It'll Be Fun
by MaybeALittleBroken
Summary: With all the attention focused on the Hive the Vex are quietly putting something into motion. When Ava and her fireteam find some very valuable knowledge contained in a dead ghost she ends up trying to unravel a very confusing web of time.
1. Chapter 1

Ava removed her helmet- noting that Xander groaned, but didn't rebuke her for it- and knelt near the small object crammed in the corner.

"What is it?" Xander trudged toward her through the sludge and dead Fallen. They had followed a weak distress signal into what was once a school according to the faded sign out front. Ava's Ghost, Greer, had picked it up while they had been following a Fallen patrol through some ruins on the Old North American continent.

"Dead Ghost." Ava picked up the Ghost carefully and turned it over in her hands. Even through her gauntlets she could feel the deeper nicks on the shell. "Why so tense?" She asked distractedly as Xander took a protective position behind her, shielding her from the room. It was something he did often, and something she found incredibly annoying.

"I'm not a fan of standing around."

Ava snorted, eyes still on what she held in her hands. "Titans are so impatient, yet so slow." Greer appeared over her shoulder and began scanning the other Ghost without prompting.  
"The ghost hasn't been here long," she informed them. "Not even an hour. And these burn patterns aren't from any Fallen weapons."

Xander widened his stance then checked his clip. Ava turned to him. "Xander, how many Fallen did we just kill?" She asked sweetly.

"About a dozen, I'd say."

"Did we kill anything else?"

"No, Ava, I don't believe we did."

Grinning Ava stood and replaced her helmet. Greer had transmatted the Ghost and disappeared back into Ava's cloak. "I think things are about to get fun."

"You always think that." Xander grumbled and she giggled as smoke and lightning began to fill the room.

As the first Vex began to appear Ava ran for the high ground. Jumping off a fallen pillar she made it through the crumbling ceiling and crouched on the roof just in time for the first wave to materialize. Xander had taken a bold position behind the sparse cover of the few standing pillars.

The Vex soldiers turned to Xander and began firing. Quietly Ava lined up the shot, relishing the feel of the Void at her fingertips. It was dark and sleek, like a black cat in the shadows. Something comfortable and endless. Something dangerous that she didn't quite understand, but she loved anyway. She smiled as she released the arrow. Void energy exploded from the center of the small army, tethering the Goblins. Tossing a grenade Ava lept down into the fray, swinging her sword. She could hear Xander firing at those not tethered as she sliced through metal. "And you thought this would be boring."

"Well, when Cayde said scouting I just assumed."

"Pfft, you just can't handle the scouting." Ava backed toward Xander as more Vex appeared. This time it was a mix of Goblins and Harpies.

"I can handle it just fine," Xander reloaded his hand canon and not sounding at all worried about what was going on, "I just don't like it."

Ava rolled her eyes. "Suuuuuure." The harpys spun and stabilized. Ava fired at as many as she could, the sound of her autorifle thundering through her bones as one after another they exploded. The seconds it took to reload cost her the edge and Ava was forced to dodge behind a pillar to avoid taking damage. Xander was still standing in the open firing with incredible accuracy despite the shots that slammed through his thin shield into his armor.

When Ava peeked out from behind her cover again there were Hobgoblins standing on the roof and back by the door. She hated those stupid, sniping things with a passion.

"This might be a little more fun than I signed up for." Xander said flatly. He moved to crouch behind another pillar and the two stared at eachother for a while. Ava tilted her head subtly toward the door and tapped her stash of smoke bombs. Xander nodded.

Tossing one toward Xander, she threw one at the pillar and was enveloped in the smoke. Taking advantage of the brief smoke cloud and confused Vex sensors, Ava ran from behind her cover and weaved through the Vex. Six steps from the door the effects wore off. Swearing she made it through the door, stabbing a Hobgoblin on her way. The Hobgoblin went into stasis and she loaded her rifle. When the Hobgoblin stood again she killed it with a couple shots before peering back into the room.

Roughly half of the Vex were marching toward the door, the other half were still firing relentlessly at Xander's pillar. "Ready with that smoke bomb?" she asked, "Don't use it until they notice you're not where you should be and just focus on running."

"I know how this works."

"Yeah, yeah, just be ready."

The Vex marching on Ava neared the corner; she backed up a few steps to get a better angle on the room. As soon as she began firing most of those focused on Xander turned. She saw him inch out into the open and take a couple steps before throwing the smoke bomb at his feet full force. He skirted around the Vex that were bottlenecking through the door. When the effects wore off, he started throwing punches. Ava backed further into the hallway and kept firing. Xander made it through the fray, turned to punch a sparking Goblin and backed to Ava's position.

"And to think some people just go bowling on their off days." Ava snickered, reloading.

"Yes, the people not getting shot at are the real losers."

"You were just complaining about being bored with scouting missions." She snapped back. "Now it's not boring enough? Go back to your wall if you want peace and quiet."

"Ouch. That cut deep, Little Finch. Careful what you say about the wall that protects you."

"Oh please, I'm never inside that wall for longer than five minutes. I can handle things just fine out here. Alone." It was a jab she made often, but both of them knew she didn't mean it. Ava actually really hated being left alone these days.

"Well then," Xander dramatically waved his arms about, ignoring the Vex to make a show of pointing to the door, "maybe I should just go."

"You do you, meat shield."

Xander laughed uproariously, turning back to their assailants. "Wow. Harsh."

Ava was smiling, but didn't respond.

The Vex continued to march through the narrow opening. Most of them didn't make it three steps into the hallway before they were taken out, but there was no end.

"Guardian?"

Ava narrowed her eyes at the random contact before glancing at Xander. He was the one to respond. "Yes, Ikora."

"Return to the tower immediately." Ikora Rey did not mince words. If she asked them to return, then she had a reason, which would later be explained with really complex sentences and a rich vocabulary.

Glancing at Xander, Ava shrugged as she backed behind Xander and pulled forth her Ghost. "Can you?"

"Yes."

A moment later Greer transmatted them both to their ships.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _After avoiding it for a long time I finally went back and edited the first chapter and the next few will probably follow. Now it's a bit less disorganized (if only I could do the same to my life) and more... shiny. I can't remember the word I want, but anyway, hello._**


	2. Chapter 2

"What was that about?" Ava asked, leaning against the railing to look down at the city. The breeze was refreshing after the time spent in the hall arguing with the Vanguard. It was the usual conversation, so she had zoned out after the first few minutes.

"What do you mean? You were standing right next to me." Xander looked briefly at the City before walking toward the bounty tracker and his grudging namesake. It was indirectly Ava's fault that he had been named after the frame, and she got the sense that he occasionally resented it.

"I was thinking about food!" Ava yelled after him, not looking up. The lights of the city were almost as mesmerizing as the stars. Down there were hundreds, thousands of people living their lives happily, protected by the walls and the guardians that ventured beyond them. Ava wondered what it would be like to live down there, oblivious to the true horrors surrounding her. Not oblivious, she supposed. They knew about the dangers and they knew the history of all that had happened since the fall of the Golden Age, but knowing about these things and actually coming face to face with them regularly are two different things. It was a line that was a Guardian's duty to hold.

"Do you ever think of retiring to the city? After your Ghost dies, I mean if you make it that far?"

Ava turned toward a Warlock who still wore their helmet. She didn't recognize the armor, but that wasn't unusual. She wasn't well acquainted with most Guardians. "Perhaps. I think it would be nice, but I don't know if I could after… everything." She'd thought about it before. Some Guardians did eventually fade into the City bustle, thankful for a bit of peace after hard battles against the Darkness.

"Those that do are regarded as heroes usually. Kids swarm around them and beg for stories and dream of being a brave Guardian. It's all so surreal to them. They don't understand."

Biting her lip Ava considered this. "I've been down there before. I've seen a retired Guardian or two and I've talked to the children. It's a nice place, but I don't think most of us can fit into such a nice place. Once you've lived beyond the walls, what's inside them seems too good to be true." She figured she would probably end up somewhere in the middle of nowhere if she lost Greer. Some Guardians could connect with another Ghost after the loss of the first one, but Ava didn't think she wanted that either.

The Warlock snorted. "It's not like a Hunter to be so serious and cynical."

"It's not like a Warlock to deign to talk to a Hunter." Ava shot back, already tired of the conversation.

"Fair enough." The Warlock stepped away, leaving Ava to stare at the horizon alone. She hated when random Guardians talked to her. It was weird.

Xander was still mulling over bounties when Ava got bored with the view so she wandered into the Tower Hanger. She nodded at Roni 55-30, who didn't look up, then at Arach Jalaal, who didn't return it, and made her way up to Holliday.

"Don't tell me you've destroyed another sparrow." Holliday grumbled, not looking up from whatever little piece of machinery she was examining.

Ava rolled her eyes and perched on one of the crates pushed against the wall. "Hey, that sparrow was defective. It's not my fault it couldn't manage a triple backflip."

Holliday only shook her head distractedly. After a long moment of silence turned to finally look at Ava. "I heard you ran into some interesting Vex trouble earlier."

Groaning Ava made a mental note to kick Cayde in the shin. "Actually, we didn't run into it personally. We just found accounts of interesting Vex trouble. It really wasn't that big of a deal." With feigned uninterest she focused on a deep scratch in the crate she was sitting on.

"The Vanguard doesn't think so."

"The Vanguard has been in this tower for too long."

"Couldn't agree more."

Ava looked up to see Cayde standing at the top of the stairs and blushed deep red. "Heeyyyy." She said awkwardly, glaring at Holliday who was on the verge of laughter.

"Hiding from Eris again?" Holliday asked as Cayde approached.

"She's still not over that ship thing."

"I still can't believe you got that Guardian to go through with that." Ava laughed. Being stranded on the Dreadnaught certainly seemed like more fun than she wanted, but at the same time she was also a little jealous Cayde hadn't conned her into doing it. But only a little. She hated the Hive and hadn't bothered to join the other Guardians that now explored the Dreadnaught.

Cayde hugged Holliday and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. Ava pretended to gag, but they paid no attention to her.

"Have you done that thing?" Cayde asked quietly.

Holliday glanced at Ava and shook her head slowly. "I don't think we should…"

"I get it; I'm going." Ava stood with a dramatic sigh and began walking toward the stairs, loudly stomping her feet.

"Before you leave come talk to me." Cayde called after her.

Ava waved without turning around and jogged down the stairs. When she made it back to the Tower Watch Xander was arguing with the gunsmith. She was nearly tempted to leave without him, but curiosity over what Cayde wanted to talk to her about won her over. Whatever it was he clearly didn't want the other Vanguard to hear or he would have told her in the meeting earlier. Cayde was being sneaky again. He really needed to stop doing that.

Stopping at the rail to glance over the Last City again, Ava contemplated how to use up her time before she could go. Holliday and Cayde were talking about something top secret, and presumably being awkwardly cute while doing so, and they were about the only people in the Tower worth talking to. Of course there was…

"Eris!" Ava said brightly as she swept down the stairs. Eris glowered at her, as usual. "What's up?" Eris merely scowled and Ava sighed, already resigned to a dark and confusing conversation. "It's a real shame what Cayde did to your ship."

Eris growled. She actually _growled_.

"I guess I shouldn't have mentioned that. What's new?" Ava tried to keep her tone light, though she was sure that only annoyed Eris further. They had had many conversations, some of which were borderline pleasant.

"Nothing is new. Everything is old and the Dark is still calling."

Ava tried to disguise her smile as she dragged the reluctant Eris into conversation. "What is the Dark saying this time?"

"We will not live to regret the hasty destruction on Oryx."

Nodding along Ava kept prodding, "How so?"

"Now someone must take his place."

Ava was stunned for a moment. She hadn't thought of that. She didn't think anybody had. She knew a few fireteams had been dispatched to deal with potential threats following the fall of Oryx, but Ava didn't think Eris was talking specifically about the slaughtered Hive god. Something bad was coming to take Oryx's place as dark, creepy, and dangerous.

"Tell me about the Vex." Not a question, but a demand.

"Not much to tell." Ava waved a hand indifferently. "Just some Hezen Protective a little further from the Vault of Glass than we've seen them previously."

Eris mumbled something foreboding under her breath, but Ava didn't really want to know so she didn't ask. Feeling suddenly very awkward and irrelevant as Eris turned away and began murmuring, Ava wished her a good day and drifted back toward the Watch. Perhaps seeking a conversation with Eris was a mistake.

Xander was still arguing with the gunsmith. Titans. The Warlock that had talked to her earlier was staring out at the City again. Other Guardians milled around. Someone had found the soccer ball.

"What are you waiting for?"

Ava spun, pulling a knife from her belt, to find the Warlock standing behind her. The Warlock who had been standing by the railing only a second ago. "What the hell?" She snapped, returning her knife to her belt.

"So much for that famous Hunter awareness."

"Fight me." Ava hissed back, "Let's go to the Crucible right now and I'll make you eat those words."

The Warlock chuckled and removed their helmet. Long, dark blue hair spilled out. "Perhaps another time. The name is Valora." Valora extended her hand to Ava with a smile.

Hesitantly Ava shook Valora's hand and sized her up. She was an Awoken, her eyes were pale pink, her skin a shimmering purple with markings around her forehead and nose. She smiled, cleary sizing Ava up as well and Ava was suddenly very self conscious.

Ava was very plain and human. Her skin was flawless and tan, but her eyes and hair were ordinary brown. She resisted the urge to replace her helmet.

"What's a Warlock like you doing talking to a Hunter like this?" Xander appeared at Ava's side, a reassuring wall.

Valora's smile widened and she introduced herself to Xander. "Is it a crime to talk to my fellow Guardians?" She asked innocently when Xander reiterated his original question.

"No, but it's suspicious." Ava said quietly. To her, everything was suspicious.

Valora laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "See you around then."

Exchanging a glance with Xander Ava recounted her conversations with Cayde and Eris.

"Definitely suspicious." Xander mused, guiding her toward the Gunsmith. "Come look at this gun!"

When Cayde found them Banshee-44 nodded conspiratorially and pulled a hand cannon sized object wrapped in paper from some hiding place and handed it over. Cayde winked and motioned for Ava to follow him. Rolling her eyes at Xander she did so.

"Okay, so," Cayde started in an excited whisper, "I have an idea."

Cayde outlined his plan as Ava followed him through the Watch toward the Hanger. It was a terrible idea. Ava loved it. "With the Vanguard focused on the Hive nobody will be looking your way, but be careful. I'm still in trouble from that thing with the other Guardian."

"I can't imagine why you're in trouble for that." Sarcasm dripped from Ava's tone as she rolled her eyes.

Cayde hushed her. "Enough with the snark. Don't get killed, and more importantly, don't get caught. I know you're going to take Xander with you, but it might be a good idea to find someone else to round out your Fireteam. The two of you might want some backup this time."

Ava raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me to do something _responsible_?"

"Yes I am. It's a new thing I'm trying out."

"I don't think it's going to stick."

"Probably not." Cayde winked and sauntered up to Holliday. He handed over the object that Banshee had handed him and Holliday unwrapped it. Suspicious.

"Should I even ask?" Xander asked as Ava stepped up beside him, smiling.

"Nope, then you wouldn't agree to it."

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _I love Eris. I really love Eris. Eris is creepy and wonderful. There will be more Eris._**

 ** _Thank you Jayfeattheris Awesome for being my first reviewer and my fave person in the world :)_**


	3. Chapter 3

Reclining on a Venus cliff Ava watched Guardians scurry through the arena. From her vantage point she could see everything, but she hadn't brought her sniper. She also hated snipers in the Crucible with a passion and thus tried to avoid being one, but the temptation was still there when she found a good perch.

"What are you doing?" Xander hissed, more than a little annoyed. According to Shaxx's commentary her team had just taken control of B and now had complete control, again. Xander was probably in the middle of the chaos.

"Waiting." As Ava spoke a pair of Guardians snuck into the open beneath her. She waited until they were directly beneath her before leaping down between them. She took the first out with a shot from her shotgun and then used the last swing of her Arc Edge to dispatch the second.

Shaxx congratulated Ava on her ten kill streak, but she was already dodging back into the cave, her shoulder throbbing from the wound of a shot that would have killed her had she stayed still a fraction of a second longer. "Fucking sniper!"

"Ladies don't swear." Xander chided.

"I'm not a lady." Ava waited for her shoulder to knit itself back together, with Greer's help, and her shield to regenerate before peering out into the open. Nothing. A bullet slammed into the rock, barely missing her head. Greer warned her that Guardians from the other team were swarming toward her, but she didn't dare venture out from the cave.

"I appear to be trapped." Ava reloaded her autorifle and took a quick inventory of her smoke bombs and grenades. She came to the conclusion that she didn't have enough of either. Wonderful.

A Guardian came around the corner and Ava fired her shotgun, missed anything vital, fired it again and got a kill. Now out of special ammo she pulled a knife from her belt and jammed it beneath another Guardian's helm. A Titan punched her in the back and she rolled to the side. Disoriented, Ava threw an envenomed smoke bomb and tried to run. Poisonous gas surrounded the enemy Guardians, distracting all but the Titan who slammed a Fist of Havoc into the ground and the resulting wave of Arc energy wrecked Ava's streak before she hit fifteen.

Ava revived swearing. Though her body didn't feel the pain of her most recent death her mind was still screaming. Some Guardians enjoyed the thrill of dying and being brought back again and again by their Light. Those Guardians were insane.

"I shall avenge you Little Finch!" Xander yelled dramatically. The effect was completely destroyed when a second later he also died.

Ava waded through a puddle, keeping low and trying not to laugh outloud. "Good job, Meat Shield, you have restored my honour." She raised her autorifle to start shooting at a stray Guardian, but Shaxx called the match. Their team won.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Xander asked as they orbited around Venus waiting for information about the next match.

"Finding a third member for our Fireteam. Or, at least, putting minimal effort into doing so."

Xander scoffed.

"For once," Ava began, "in this strange second life I am being serious. So if you-"

"What? Why?"

"If I told you why I'd have to tell you the plan, and if I told you the plan you wouldn't agree to it."

"Then forget I asked, but we've been here for hours."

Ava sighed. "You're right. We'll go after this match." As she spoke their ships were already hurtling toward the Moon.

"I hate this one." Xander complained as soon as they were transmatted into the Cauldron.

Ava rolled her eyes. Xander hated every arena. "I guess I'll just man B all by myself then." She teased, running past C toward the most dangerous part of the arena.

Shaxx announced their control of C a second before Alpha took control of A. Most every Guardian would be running for B.

When the door slid open in front of Ava she threw a grenade and an envenomed smoke bomb at the two Guardians already trying to take control of B. They didn't stand a chance as, right behind Ava, Xander opened fire.

The next Guardians to come out in the open came prepared. Ava danced back behind the wall and reloaded as bullets rained down on them. Xander was taken out a second later with the zing of somebody's Hereafter. Before Ava could get around the corner to her avenge her friend a Warlock let loose a Nova Bomb. Seconds from capturing B any Alpha team members were annihilated.

Bravo rushed in and took B. Alpha spilled out of the doors, and Ava was warned that someone was trying to take C from them. She abandoned B to most of the rest of her team and ran for C.

A lonely Titan was crouched next to the flag. Ava threw a spike grenade and swore as she missed her mark and the torrent of Void energy was released on absolutely nothing. The Titan threw a grenade back at her and Ava rolled to the side to avoid the pulse of Arc energy. Was this the same Titan from before?

Throwing caution to the wind Ava jumped down next to the flag. She pulled out her shotgun and took two shots at the Titan. To her surprise it worked. Her impulsive decisions generally worked out in her favor. One day, though, that luck was sure to run out.

A Warlock came running out of the tunnel and without a second wasted Ava spun and stabbed with her knife. The Warlock tried to raise their gun, but Ava stabbed again and fired Invective. The Warlock went down.

Stumbling back, Ava laughed. She was just about to say something sarcastic to Xander when the Warlock stood back up in a state of Radiance and Ava was engulfed in Solar energy.

Ava appeared again near the edge of the arena alone. She didn't hesitate before running back toward C. Another Hunter from her team was crouched on the ledge next to the door shooting and dodging. The Warlock was moving around the flag still in a state of radiance throwing Solar energy around like it was nothing.

Pulling her shotgun from her back Ava crept closer. The Warlock noticed her and turned. Ava fired, not sure whether or not she was even in range. Though Ava's shot barely did any damage the other Hunter was standing now and shooting without restraint.

When the Warlock's radiance faded away and they were evenly matched once again, Ava finally took in the Warlock's armor and realized it was the same Warlock from the Tower. She probably would have started swearing again if someone hadn't shot her in the back.

"Valora is here." Ava informed Xander as soon as she could talk again.

"Who?"

"Our mysterious friend from the Tower. She was just at C."

Xander grunted an answer, but Ava was no longer paying any attention to him. She slipped through the tunnel toward C to find it once again under Bravo control. No sign of Valora.

Waving at a Hunter guarding C Ava ran through a hallway around B to A. Valora didn't appear to be there either. Setting aside her personal grudge against the suspicious Warlock Ava spent the remainder of the match taking and losing control of A and C. She didn't come face to face with Valora again, but there was a lot going on.

 **~o~**

Picking her way through crumbling buildings Ava complained, "I just think it's a little strange. She knows something that we don't. I don't like it. I'm going to fight her."

"You just did, and you lost."

"I did not lose I killed her first!"

"Then she killed you back. If anything, it was a draw."

"Oh, hush." Ava pushed open a door half hanging from it's hinges and stepped out into the hazy Venus sunlight. She stood on what at one point was probably a bridge, but was now only a tiny ledge just big enough to stand on. Below her was a valley crowded with ancient buildings and Vex technology. Vex wandered, if you can describe anything a vex does so trivially, through the buildings. On the horizon volcanoes spewed their poisons into the sky.

With a relieved sigh Ava sat on the rocky ledge and set her Paleocontact JPK-43 in her lap. That gun was the only reason she had involved herself at all with any of the factions. Leaning back against the wall with her feet dangling over the edge she glanced over at Xander who still stood in the doorway. She patted the ground next to her, "Sit."

Slowly Xander lowered himself to the ground, but not next to Ava. He set up his sniper, a gun not often used due to his impatience, and lay on his stomach to peer down the scope. "Hezen Protective."

Ava groaned. "I hate it when Cayde is right."

"Now what do we do?"

"We wait."

After only ten minutes Xander was up and wandering through the building behind them. His restlessness was starting to test her already frayed nerves. Never send a Titan to do a Hunter's job. She had, of course, considered telling Xander just to join her later, but things could go very wrong very quickly.

As if the universe was privy to Ava's thoughts, the sound of Xander's handcannon echoed through the building.

Ava was on her feet, Invective in hand before the echo quieted. In the valley below the Vex looked up.

"Xander?" Inching along the ledge, Ava approached the door. She couldn't see into the gloom. Xander did not answer her. With a deep breath she entered the darkness.

It took only a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did she saw nothing. The room was as empty and disheveled as it had been when they walked through it the first time. They had gone through the entire building before setting up camp to watch the Vex below. There shouldn't be anything in here.

There was another shot, and then Xander's voice, "I think it is dead."

"What's dead?"

"Just come here. Up the stairs and to the right. Follow the beautiful light."

Beautiful? Glancing back at the door, and the valley beyond it, Ava hesitated. The Vex knew they were here now, most likely they knew all along. Why not attack?

"Hurry."

Slinging Invective to her back and grabbing her autorifle, Ava followed Xander's directions. Though he had sounded calm she remained tense. Her Light was straining against her as she approached the stairs, trying to pull her away from the absolute wrongness she sensed from the second story.

"Greer, get me Cayde."

"Find anything yet, Guardian?" Cayde sounded as upbeat and careless as always.

Ava stopped walking, boots brushing against the first step. "I think so, and I think it's bad."

"What does Xander think? He's usually a little more… Titan about these things."

"I think, perhaps, Xander is not actually himself right now."

Instead of asking her to clarify, Cayde asked, "Did you ever find a third?"

"Nope." Ava sighed, stepping onto the first stair.

Greer quietly informed her that there was, in fact, a third Guardian. Ava knew who it would be, so she waited.

Valora waltzed into the room. "Ready?" She asked.

Ava grinned, and the two crept up the stairs. "Cayde, did you know about this?"

"Actually, I did not." Cayde replied, a little quiet. This was definitely suspicious, but this was a bit of suspiciousness that would have to be saved for later.

"What's the plan here?" Valora stopped Ava when they reached the landing.

Ava could now see the light that Xander, or at least Xander's voice, had been talking about. It glowed blue and pulsed, spilling out into the hall from a room near the end. For a moment it mesmerized her, and she nearly took a step forward, but Valora's voice anchored her.

"Do you even have a plan?" Valora's voice sounded distant, like she was also hypnotized by the light.

"Nope. I think we should keep talking, though. Keep our focus on anything but this light."

"Sounds good to me."

They stepped forward, discussing the latest Iron Banner stats. Ava's Light was screaming. There was something about this that felt familiar, and that only made her more anxious.

"Who is with you?" Xander's voice asked.

Ava slowed and Greer merged her conversation with Xander with her conversation with Valora. Cayde was probably listening as well. "Valora. Remember? I said she would be joining us."

"No you did not." Xander's voice called her bluff. No contractions.

"Must have forgotten to mention it."

"Should I be offended that I'm so forgettable?" Valora faked a gasp and brought a hand up to cover her heart, two fingers extended. Two somethings were in that room. Hopefully one of them would still be Xander.

Ava nodded her acknowledgment of the signal, but said, "Perhaps."

"What is taking you guys so long?" Yet again, no contractions.

"Hey," Valora started, "settle a bet between us. What were your Iron Banner stats? Ava here claims she beat you."

They neared the door and Valora inclined her head, an invitation for Ava to go first. "Because I did beat him!"

Ava stepped through the door, gun raised. The damn light was so bright she couldn't see anything for a very long moment. She could sense Valora behind her, though, and kept walking forward slowly.

"I highly doubt that." Valora continued the conversation easily, "I had an easy enough time killing you."

Shadows were beginning to form far ahead. How big was this room?

"You cheated!"

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Did not."

Ava broke off the conversation when she finally saw Xander. He was slumped on the ground near the source of the light. Something was moving around Xander and the light source- no, it was the light source. And it seemed to be rather large.

"Welcome." Xander's voice, but not. Something more mechanical and cold.

"Hello." Ava greeted the Thing lightly. "Can I have my friend back, or do I have to kill you first?" She squinted at the Thing, trying to see what it was, but the light was too bright.

The Thing chuckled, a cold, grating sound.

"I would really prefer we not get into a fight." Valora's voice was a little strained. "I just got these boots from Xur and they cost an arm and a leg. Literally. I literally had to cut some arms and legs off to get his precious, weird as fuck coins."

Valora stopped walking, but Ava kept moving forward despite her entire being screaming for her to run. This light was not like the Traveler's Light, it was unnatural. It's very essence evil. "What are you?" She whispered. "Are you Vex?"

The Thing chuckled once more. "No, I am better than the Vex. More than the Vex. The Golden Age created me, and I will destroy its descendants."

Not good at all. Ava stepped across the Thing's path and stopped next to Xander. The Thing circled her silently for a moment.

"Tell me, Little Finch, why are the dead walking?"

Ava staggered, and the Thing laughed at her. How dare It use Xander's name for her. Angry and desperate she raised her gun, and fired.

 **~o~**

 _Falling. She threw her hands out in front of her to catch herself, her hands pale and scarred. She hit the ground hard and narrowly avoided sliding off the edge of the unrailed bridge. The breath knocked from her lungs, she simply stared down at the valley below. The buildings were new and shiny. Whatever had possessed them to send scientists out into this part of Venus was apparently well motivated. The compound had been built quickly and quietly._

 _Heavy footsteps shook the stone beneath her. "Are you okay?"_

 _Rough hands helped her to her feet and she brushed dust off her clothes. "I'm fine. Whatever we just did It didn't like it." She looked past the man toward the building. "I think we should stop for the day."_

 _"No." The man hissed. "We get paid for results."_

 _"Pushing It is just stupid." And pointless. They were scientists. Why were they acting like impatient children?_

 _"Well, then you come up with a plan to get us all off this stupid rock."_

 _She rolled her eyes. "You can't rush science. When you rush science you get thrown out a window."_

 _The man looked up sheepishly at the broken window on the second floor. She was lucky that she hadn't broken any bones. "Then we board up the windows."_

 _"Then the next person just gets splattered on the boards?"_

 _"As long as they have all their paperwork up to date who cares?"_

 _"I care!" She yelled, jabbing a finger at the man's chest. "Nobody else dies. We back off until we figure this thing out a little more."_

 _She pushed past the man and walked back into the building, past other scientists that tried, and failed, to look busy. The man followed her back up the stairs and to the room._

 _The door was sealed with two soldiers posted outside it, rocket launchers in hand. The rocket launchers wouldn't be able to kill It, but they were under strict orders not to kill It anyway. In fact, they were under orders to do as little damage as possible, even at the cost of human lives._

 _She nodded to the guards and swept past them into the observation room. It was nowhere to be seen. Of course. It did this often, disappearing from view and from all detection methods. It was still there somewhere, somehow, and for some reason never left that specific room._

 _She had been brought in with a second team of scientists, the first having disappeared suspiciously, and all of the previous records were conveniently gone. Maybe It was responsible. Maybe the Ishtar Collective was. There was no proof either way._

 _With a groan she collapsed into a chair and began to go over It's files. She was reading a detailed description of It's daily habits when she heard It speak._

 _It used a voice they didn't have recorded in the files. "Tell me, Little Finch, why are the dead walking?"_

 **~o~**

Ava was revived in a storm of Solar energy. Valora stood over her in her state of Radiance. Shaking off the feeling of that vision Ava scrambled to her feet and grabbed Xander's arm. He was still on the ground.

Around them orange Solar energy flickered against the pulsing blue. "We need to go." Valora ground out through her teeth.

Pulling Xander up and taking most of his weight Ava lead the way out of the room. The Thing laughed as they struggled down the stairs, but didn't follow them.

"Holy hell." Ava spat, dropping Xander onto the ground once they were shielded from the building and the valley it overlooked by the thick Venus jungle.

Valora was panting and didn't respond.

"That Thing was not in there when we walked through the first time." Ava slashed her knife through a tangle of vines. "Nothing was in that building." She embedded her knife in a tree and turned back to Valora.

"You should maybe-"

"No! You- you shut the hell up. What the fuck were you doing here? Huh? You better tell me your story right now or I swear I'll take your head off and smash your Ghost into a pulp." Arc energy crackled under Ava's skin with her temper, but she pushed it away immediately.

Faced with Ava's wrath Valora wisely did not remind her that she had saved both her and Xander only moments ago. "Ikora wanted me to keep an eye on Cayde after the incident involving the Dreadnaught. After your encounter with the Vex Ikora had a suspicion that Cayde was going to try something stupid again so..."

"So you followed us around." Ava finished for her.

Valora nodded, "Cayde really isn't as sneaky as he thinks he is."

"When this is over I might just kill you and make sure you stay dead." Ava hated the words she said the second they left her mouth. She knew most of her anger wasn't directed at Valora. It was directed at herself, and at somebody that used to have a mastery over Solar energy. But Valora wasn't Sorcha. Ava pushed the thought away, struggling to leash her temper. Now was not the time to deal with that.

Shrugging Valora turned to examine the trees and ended her conversation with Ava.

Ava stuck her tongue out at Valora despite the fact that she was still wearing her helm and finally directed her attention to Xander. He was sitting now, hunched over with his head in his hands. "Could you very quietly tell me what just happened?"

Plopping down on the ground Ava let Xander lean against her shoulder and recounted everything that happened after he wandered off.

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 _ **I'm back! This kinda just happened, but I actually have a solid plot now so yay! Most likely updates will be sometime over the weekend, hopefully once a week, but it depends on school and work.**_

 _ **Thanks again to Jayfeatheris Awesome for reviewing. You are currently my favorite person (except my cat, of course). I encourage others to review also. I don't bite and really appreciate feedback. Even just a little guest review or a smiley face would make my day.**_


	4. Chapter 4

Leaning against Xander's back, cleaning sap from her knife, Ava tried to contain her laughter as Cayde argued with the rest of the Vanguard. Valora had wasted no time in throwing Cayde under the bus and explaining the events to Ikora. Cayde, in his defence, knew nothing about the Thing. He was just trying to get a scout in there as soon as possible to get information.

Xander appeared to have recovered. He said he didn't remember anything after walking into the room. There was a bright flash, he fired his gun once, and then nothing until Ava was standing over him yelling at Valora.

With the memory of the vision weighing on Ava's mind she ached to ask him if he saw something too, but she left it alone. She would let him rest. Besides, she wasn't sure whether there was any truth to what she saw anyway.

"If I hadn't sent in my Warlock you would have lost us two good Guardians." Ikora was nearly yelling now.

"They weren't supposed to run into something like that." Cayde argued. "There was nothing in that building."

"It was stupid." Zavala grumbled.

"It was a scouting mission! I advised Ava to find a third and pay attention, but I didn't think that-"

"You never think, Cayde. Stop sending Guardians into these foolish and avoidable situations."

"If we just sit around thinking all day nothing will ever happen!"'

"Cayde-"

"You never want to lecture me when my plans work. You just yell when they fail, and this one didn't fail. You said we needed more information. Well, now we've got it."

There was a pause in the arguing. "You're right, Cayde, we do have the information we wanted, but that does not excuse this kind of behavior."

Ava groaned and said to Xander, "Mom and dad are fighting again."

"Nah," Xander laughed, "Ikora and Zavala are mom and dad. Cayde is the weird uncle."

"Fair enough." Ava elbowed Xander in the back. He elbowed her back. They continued to squabble until Ava fell to the side laughing. "I'm glad you're not dead." She said once she regained her breath.

"I'm glad I'm not dead, too." Xander joked, flopping on his back next to her.

They both stared up at the trees and ignored the Vanguard. "I'm serious. For a little bit there I thought you were dead for good. That wasn't fun." No, the momentary crushing feeling of being alone had not been fun at all. It had brought back too many memories, memories that Valora was now too close to.

"I'll try harder to not die next time."

"Good." Ava picked a rock out of the dirt at her side and threw it in the general direction of Valora.

"You're not bitter at all." Xander said sarcastically when Valora jumped, scared by the rock slamming into her helm.

Ava just smiled, glad the rock had found its mark. She didn't like that Cayde was being yelled at. Again. It wasn't really Cayde's fault, either. He had given her strict instructions not to engage the Vex. She was simply supposed to watch and wait until she had enough information to convince the Vanguard to take action. She wasn't stranded on the Dreadnaught or anything. He had advised her to find a third just in case, and so that when the Vanguard finally decided to take action they would be ready.

Well, now the Vanguard would have to make a decision and her Fireteam was there and ready. Cayde's plan _had_ worked. Just with a little unexpectedness, which was the usual.

"Hey, Xander, do you ever try to think about who you were before your Ghost found you?" Unable to contain herself anymore Ava finally asked the question that had been bugging her since they had come out here.

"Don't we all? I gave up on that a long while ago, though. Why are you suddenly interested?"

"No reason. Just thinking."

Xander sat up and looked down at her. "Hunters never think. Especially not this Hunter. What's up?"

Ava lowered her voice, despite the fact that Valora was no longer a part of their conversation and they all still wore helms. "That Thing… I-I think maybe it might have possibly-"

"Get to the point."

"-showed me my memories. Or maybe they were the Things memories, but I was… there."

Xander straightened and Ava could tell he was analyzing this information. "Are you sure."

"No, but you know those really faded scars on my hands?" Xander nodded. "Those have been there since Greer brought me back. She found me here, on Venus. The girl in the vision had the scars too. Exactly the same. It can't be a coincidence."

"Maybe," Xander lowered himself to the ground again, "it was just a hallucination."

"Maybe you're right." Ava clenched her fists and resisted the urge to rip off her gauntlets. The atmosphere on Venus was borderline toxic to begin with, and with their close proximity to Vex technology it was a recipe for disaster, or at the very least, insanity.

Xander clearly wasn't convinced that she agreed with him because he started again, "Look, either way does it really matter?"

Ava turned to him and stared at his helm as if she could see his face.

"We are who we are now, and driving yourself crazy trying to figure out the past won't get you anywhere. Maybe you're right and the Thing showed you one of your memories. Maybe you were hallucinating. Either way, does it make a difference?"

Ava closed her eyes. "No."

"Okay. Let it go."

"Alright." She had a sinking feeling that Xander was withholding information. Perhaps he had seen some of his own past and didn't like it. Most likely, though, he was just annoyed with her. Ava was annoyed with herself, and utterly exhausted. She wasn't in dire need of sleep and could probably go a few more days without it, but sleep was nice so she let herself relax with Xander's arm reassuringly brushing against her own. The Vanguard's arguing lulled her into strange dreams of the Ishtar Collective before the collapse.

Xander kicked Ava repeatedly in the leg until she got up. "Not funny." She hissed at him, but he only laughed and rolled his shoulders. It was darker now than it had been earlier, but the sun was still up.

Valora was standing a couple feet away, her scout rifle dangling from her hand. She wisely didn't try to contact them through the coms, instead she simply nodded her head back toward the building before walking off into the trees.

"The Vanguard argued for _hours_ , but eventually decided that we should stay put and keep monitoring the situation. Valora has been put unofficially in charge." Xander informed Ava quickly as she checked her weapons. Not that she needed to, she just figured that if they followed directly after Valora she might stab her out of spite. "Promise not to cause too much trouble." Xander warned, reading her mind.

"I refuse to make a promise I will most likely break." Her wary distrust of Valora had solidified into something like irrational hatred.

Though she couldn't see it, Ava was sure Xander rolled his eyes at her. "Try."

"I'll try." She conceded as she secured Invective on her back. "But I don't care what the Vanguard says this is my team. I didn't invite Valora to join us and I won't take orders from her." She definitely wasn't giving up control.

"Even if she's relaying orders from the Vanguard?"

Ava stalked into the trees. "The Vanguard can contact me directly."

"This is not going to end well."

"Oh, but it'll be fun." Ava laughed, smiling. She was ready for a fight and she didn't really care who it was she was fighting.

The walk back to the building was done in complete silence, but once they reached the door Valora stopped and waited for Ava or Xander to contact her. Ava wasn't sure if that pleased or angered her.

"We watch and wait. Nobody goes back into that room." Ava ordered. "Valora can keep an eye on the Vex in the valley. Xander will patrol the general area and I'll keep an eye on that thing from the observation room."

Xander tensed, seemingly to argue with her, and she silently dared him to try. "Okay." he finally said.

"Aye aye captain." Valora bit out. Her tone implied that she wasn't very happy with Ava telling her what to do, but Ava didn't particularly care. The only way she could see herself not fighting with the Warlock was if they stayed far away from each other.

Ava swept past them into the building without another word. Xander was clearly suspicious of Ava's motives, but she had been serious when she said nobody was going back in there. If, however, she stayed out of the room and managed to talk to the Thing, that was completely different.

She followed the same path her vision self had taken, past the room containing the Thing, securing the heavy metal door as she went by, into the observation room.

Inside she found a crooked desk and a busted chair positioned in front of a reinforced window looking into the Thing's room. There was a filing cabinet leaning haphazardly against the wall next to the door.

She tried the cabinet first, and found the remnants of long smashed recording devices and other machinery. In the bottom drawer there was a small safe. Ava pulled it out and set it on the table next to a long dead, but still miraculously intact, tablet that she set about trying to resuscitate.

Valora and Xander were still talking through the coms, and though she tried to ignore them, Ava listened in when she heard her name.

"Ava doesn't like new people." Xander was saying. "Don't take it personally."

"She's a hunter. Do any of them like other people?" Valora's tone was laced with cool indifference.

"Just be quiet and listen to me for a second." Xander snapped sensing Valora didn't wish to continue the conversation. "When I met Ava she already had a partner, Sorcha. I leaned more toward being a Defender back then, and trust me those two needed one. If you think she's wild now you clearly don't associate with many Hunters."

Valora scoffed, but Xander shushed her again.

"Sorcha and Ava were fire and electricity. They would disappear on the Vanguard and then turn up with crazy stories. They mocked Warlocks and Titans relentlessly in the Crucible. One time Sorcha threw a Cabal Phalanx head at Zavala because he said the two of them shouldn't take on an entire legion alone. They were generally just chaos, like all Hunters, and eventually the Vanguard assigned me to try and bring some order to their team.'

"I'm sure they just _loved_ that."

Ava nearly laughed, remembering the initial hell they had put Xander through, but sobered as he continued the story.

"We eventually fell into a rhythm, one that usually involved me reviving them a lot. We were a pretty formidable Fireteam until-"

"Let me guess: Sorcha died. That doesn't give her the right to always be an ass. We've all lost friends."

"Shut up!" Xander, who rarely lost his temper, yelled. "Sorcha did not die. She left."

There was a pause. "What do you mean?" Valora asked carefully.

Xander let out a long, slow breath. "I mean she just walked away from us. Sorcha disagreed with how we handled the Eliksni. She thought we should just give in to them and let them take revenge on the Traveler. It escalated into a fight between the girls. Ava told her to make a choice, her and the Traveler or exile. Sorcha lunged for her, so Ava slashed her ghost in half and told her to go."

'It completely shattered Ava. She disappeared for a very long time, even Cayde was starting to get worried. I don't know exactly what she did while she was gone, but she was no longer a Bladedancer when she came waltzing back into the Tower. Not just in the way she channeled Light, but in who she was. She wasn't bright anymore. She was dark and quiet, a Nightstalker. The first time I opened a Ward after that she threw a knife at my head and cussed me out. She told me not to do it again and then just shredded through a line of Vex like it was nothing."

Valora let out a low whistle. "So you just changed how you channel Light for her?"

"Not _just_. There is no _just_ about it. I was a Defender by heart so that's what came naturally to me. Ava must have had an easier time of it considering that her personality changed, but it was hell for me. It took years and constant consultation with Ikora and Zavala to do it, but eventually I figured it out and got a handle on being a Striker. Until then I refused to open a Ward around her."

Ava cringed. In the moment she had been so consumed with grief and rage she hadn't thought about how the change had been for Xander, but now she felt the guilt. She couldn't quite remember her change. Her time spent out in the wild after Sorcha was a blur of carnage. She remembered refusing to use her Bladedancer abilities, and that she had trashed the weapons and armor that reminded her of Sorcha. The Void kind of just wrapped around her, and she had accepted the change gratefully.

Valora's voice cut into Ava's thoughts with a question that often haunted her. "Why didn't you just ditch her? It was hardly fair for her to demand you change like that."

"Because she needed someone, and because she would have done it for me."

"And does she ever..?"

"Talk about it? No. She likes to pretend it didn't happen, but she hangs onto that Arc Edge like it's the only real thing left in the universe so I don't think she's done with being a Bladedancer quite yet."

"Why are you telling me this?" Valora's tone was slow, calculated.

"Just so you know her story, and mine. My story isn't relevant to this situation until she came into it, so that's all there really is. Ava's loyal as hell once she decides you're worth her time so just ride out her coldness."

Valora sighed, apparently not very convinced. "I suppose you'll want to hear my story now."

"Not until you want to tell it."

"Good."

Ava groaned, she would have pushed for Valora to spill her secrets and even the playing field, but there would be time for that later. She wondered if Xander knew she was listening, and why he thought he got to tell her story to a near stranger. Sure, Valora had technically saved both their asses, but that didn't entitle her to Ava's history. Bringing up the memories only served to deepen her ill feelings toward Valora.

Realizing she was almost crushing the tablet in her grip Ava set it down and turned her attention to the safe. The safe was a little metal cube, small enough that she could easily hold it balanced on the palm of one hand, and strong enough to have survived the centuries. The dial was dented and the numbers were faded after the years, but the lock was still functional.

Greer made a small noise near Ava's ear; she set the safe down on the table and stepped back. Greer moved forward to hover over the safe and began scanning. "This is an incredibly old object." She noted as she worked.

"Everything here is old."

"No, I mean it's not electronic, which is strange for this era of the Golden Age."

Ava shrugged, not as interested as her Ghost, and tested the chair. It collapsed the second she set her hand on the back. She made a face and settled for leaning against the wall. She tapped her foot against the ground, too restless to remain still.

Greer made a triumphant sound and the safe popped open. "There we go, easy as pie."

Ava stepped forward and peered into the tiny box. A little journal sat on the bottom, nothing else. Strange. Pulling it out carefully so as not to damage the frail paper Ava opened a channel excluding Valora and the Vanguard to talk only to Xander.

"Everything alright?" Xander asked immediately.

"Just fine. Come look at what I found."

Xander paused, and then swore, "I _knew_ you were going back in there. How stupid can you be? Listen, Thing, I-"

"Xander."

"-am going to-"

"Xander."

"-hit you so hard that-"

"Xander!"

"What?"

"I didn't go back in. I'm still me. Just come here." Ava had removed the journal mostly intact, pushed the safe to the edge of the table, and laid it in the center of the table. Suddenly the light was sucked out of the room. Greer lit the small observation room without prompting, but the Thing's room was completely dark. Unnaturally dark.

"I see you're back." Ava said, not sure whether or not the Thing could even hear her from behind the glass.

"Yes, I have returned." The Thing said from the darkness.

A beam of light flashed through the hallway and then Xander was standing in the doorway. "Why it so dark in here?"

Ava motioned to the glass. "I think our friend has stolen the light."

"Can It see us?"

"No," Xander's Ghost, Miles, answered before Greer could, "but It knows we are here. Somebody," Miles gave Ava the Ghost equivalent of an accusing stare, his light nearly blinding her, "had to talk to It."

Ava just shrugged before leaning over the journal and slowly turning to the first page. "Why would someone from the Golden Age write everything down?" She asked, squinting to read the faded letters.

There was a date at the top of the page, but Ava couldn't make it out so she skipped further down the page. "I know this is unconventional, but I am afraid to open a log. I no longer trust the technology, not after seeing what It is capable of."

"Guess that answers your question." Xander murmured.

"What we are doing here," Ava continued, "I cannot say I condone. When I first came to this remote part of Venus I believed that I was doing work to help the people, but now I fear that I am only endangering them."

She stopped and brought her face closer to the page. "I can't make out this part."

Xander started to respond, but Valora's voice cut him off from the other channel. "We've got a problem."

Xander was out the door before Valora's voice even faded. Sighing, Ava motioned for Greer to transmat the journal to her ship, asking her not to mention it to the Vanguard until further notice, and took one last glance at the eerily silent room before following him.

Greer stopped her before she made it to the stairs. "I'm picking up strange readings from the room." She didn't have to specify which room, Ava knew what she meant.

"Define strange."

Greer spun her shell and was quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure."

"Ava get your ass out here!"

With one last glance back at the heavy metal door Ava ran down the stairs. She turned to join Xander and Valora on the bridge, but stopped when she heard a loud boom from the front of the building.

"Fallen." Greer informed Ava solemnly.

"What's taking so long?" Xander sounded more frustrated than usual.

"Fallen are attacking from the front."

"And the Vex are mobilizing in the rear." Valora said.

"That's what she said." Ava laughed, now walking down the main hallway toward the front entrance. She could see the shadow of a skiff darken the ground through the open door.

"Can you just be serious for one second?" Valora snapped.

"Could be, don't want to." Ava's tone was sickeningly sweet as she mocked the Warlock. "You have a problem with that?"

"Let's not do this now." Xander cut in. "We have bigger problems."

Ava, however, did not think that they did have _bigger_ problems. A sudden burst of adrenaline made her reckless, and she wanted more than anything to pick a fight with Valora.

"I've already killed you once today." Valora hissed. "Don't make me wound your pride anymore than that."

"Let's see how you handle a handful of Vex before you get all tough." Ava moved toward the wall of the hallway and slowed her pace.

Xander made an annoyed sound, but didn't try to break up the fight again.

"One of these days-" Valora's threat was cut off by a loud explosion and shooting.

Through the grimy windows lining the front of the building Ava could see the silhouettes of the Fallen dropping from their Skiff. A second boom heralded the arrival of another Skiff, and Ava had the feeling that there would be more, and they would be coming much quicker than she'd like.

"We might just want to cut our losses and go." Xander suggested.

Valora agreed with him. "We can't fight a war on two fronts."

"Why are the Vex moving now?" Ava asked, ignoring their plans. "I mean, they've been down in that valley for who knows how long. Why now?"

"This is not the time." Xander growled.

"Actually," Valora started, "she does have a point."

"No way! You get off my side right now." Ava stopped and watched the Fallen scurry around the front. They seemed to be trying to form ranks. A little suspicious that they showed up so unprepared.

"The readings are starting to get stranger up in that room." Greer was still hovering over her shoulder and Ava motioned for the Ghost to disappear into her cloak. Greer hesitated, but did as she was ordered. "We might end up fighting on three fronts."

More Fallen were dropping to the ground, and from the sound of Xander's angry commentary things weren't looking much better with the Vex. "I doubt we'll be able to pull that off."

"It's your call."

Ava sighed and backed away from the Fallen. "I vote we retreat." Greer hummed her agreement and Ava made the order. "Upstairs. Both of you. Now. We let the Vex and Fallen clash with each other and then face the winner."

"Are you sure that's the best plan?" Valora asked.

"Nope."

"Good enough for me." There was a little bit of humor detectable in Xander's voice. He was used to Ava's schemes.

Ava waited at the bottom of the stairs until Xander and Volara came into view. She started up slowly, walking backwards, until the two had passed her before turning around and taking the steps two at a time. The Fallen screeched out their anger when they met with the Vex, and she shuddered a little.

The second floor was still pitch black and three Ghosts hovered over their Guardian's shoulders, illuminating the hall as they walked. Greer, who was black with little accents of red to match Ava's armor, was looking at Miles, who was a navy blue that matched Xanders armor. The Ghosts seemed to be communicating with each other. Valora's Ghost was a bright orange that did not fit at all with Valora's royal purple robes and was being ignored completely by Miles and Greer. In fact, the two were talking about the third Ghost.

"Enough of that." Ava told Greer, though she was smiling. "It's not like you to be that rude. That's my job."

"Aiden is a strange little Ghost."

"Is that its name then?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. We'll come back to that later." They were nearing the room now and Ava could feel her skin crawling. Something strange was indeed going on in there.

Valora stopped a couple steps from the door, clearly uncomfortable. "What's the plan now, bird brain?"

Before Xander could stop her Ava launched herself at the Warlock. Valora was clearly expecting the attack and tried to sidestep Ava, but she was prepared for that. Pulling her Arc Edge from her back Ava swung with deadly precision. She caught Valora in the stomach and Valora went flying back into the metal door before crumpling to the ground. She probably would have gone for Aiden next, but Xander grabbed the blade. His shout of pain as he wrapped his fist around restless Arc energy made Ava wince and she dropped her weapon.

"You need to chill." Xander let go of the Arc Edge and stepped back. Ava picked up her sword and sheathed it. "Go stand in the corner." He pointed toward the end of the hall past the door.

Still seething Ava walked away from Xander, who stayed between her and Valora until he judged the distance sufficient. Valora was already standing again, Aiden having healed her.

Ava leaned against the wall and watched Xander pace. Miles kept shooting threatening glances back and forth between her and Valora. "The two of you need to stop fighting like children." Xander said finally.

"She started it." Greer jumped to her Guardian's defence. Ava outright laughed. She was aware she behaving like a child, but she didn't care.

"I don't care who started it! I was hoping earlier that you weren't listening, but I'm sure you were so-"

Ava straightened, but made no move to advance on Valora again. "You had no right."

"If you weren't always acting like a spoiled brat then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to explain your behavior. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get your act together. There's a reason nobody ever sticks around."

Her heart froze. Greer's light went out from the shock of those words. Suddenly the nothing felt real and too real at the same time. Ava couldn't think of a word to say so she walked past Xander, who positioned himself between her and Valora once more, and down the stairs.

The Fallen were still battling the Vex. Ava moved through them like it was nothing. She didn't bother with any other weapon besides the Arc Edge, and by the time she reached the door it was only a smoking hilt. She dropped it in the doorway and ran.

The Venus jungle tore at Ava as she ran, but she kept going until she collapsed. Greer blinked into existence, but remained silent. It was fully dark now. She stared at nothing until her breath evened out, then she stood and started walking.

 _One foot in front of the other._

 _Keep moving._

 _Keep moving._

Though she didn't light Ava's path, Greer hovered over her shoulder as a quiet reassurance because she could feel Ava falling again, and she knew that this time Ava wouldn't be able to stop it herself.

 **~o~**

Xander had meant every word he said while he was saying it, but that feeling hadn't lasted long. He thought Ava was going to launch herself at him next, but she had only walked past silently. He listened to her release her anger on the Fallen and Vex a level below, but hadn't moved to help her. He was going to just let her get herself killed, then go revive her and lecture her about being reckless, but the noise of her carnage died down and was not followed by Miles announcing "Guardian down".

But. But. But. But he shouldn't have said that.

Valora had been quiet for so long that she startled Xander when she spoke. "Where did she go?"

Xander turned to face her. "I don't know."

"I'm sorry." It was clear by Valora's tone that she was only sorry that it had happened, she wasn't taking responsibility for her part in it.

The door behind Valora creaked open on a phantom breeze and she leapt away from it. Inside the Thing was laughing.

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 _ **Things continue to just go downhill from this point on, my friends, so please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times. A little of Ava, and yes, her backstory is very important to future events. Valora likes to fight once provoked. Xander put his entire leg in his mouth. Thing is very amused, which only promises nasty things to come.**_

 _ **Jayfeattheris Awesome- yes! another AOS fan!**_

 _ **Arbiter08- HELLO!**_


	5. Chapter 5

"This is an interesting turn of events." The Thing said. "Now that your little bird has taken flight things have changed."

Xander pulled Valora away from the door as Miles babbled ceaselessly in his mind about the strange readings he was picking up from the room.

"I think you really hurt her feelings. There's about a thousand different places she could have gone, but if you ask real nice I can calculate the most likely. Although, it could take a moment. No, wait, I'm done."

"Xander," Valora started, "don't listen."

"Come in and we can talk."

Xander was _seriously_ considering listening to the creepy light manipulating Thing in that room. At this point what did he really have to lose?

 _This is not a recommended course of action,_ Miles warned.

 _Exactly how many courses of action are we left with here?_

"Come on." Valora tugged on Xander's arm and dragged him toward the stairs. "You are not going awol on me. Ava's done enough crazy for all of us today."

When they reached the top of the stairs Xander could still hear the Vex and Fallen fighting. Ava clearly hadn't been worried about the battle at all, she had just stormed through it. This wasn't the first time she'd done something like this, but it was the first time she had walked away from him without trying to fight back. The fact that she hadn't tried to take his head off, either figuratively or literally, meant she was clearly not ready to face the truth.

And she had gone after Aiden. What the hell was he supposed to do about _that_? This was a mess, one he didn't think he could help Ava clean up. Not this time.

The pair stopped at the bottom of the stairs and began picking off Fallen through the busted stairwell door.

None of the Vex or Fallen noticed Xander and Valora in the dark stairwell. When a Dreg went down with a bullet through its chest it looked no different than a Dreg slayed by a Line Rifle, at least not enough to be noticed amidst all the chaos.

Miles had stopped jabbering in Xander's mind about the the Thing, but he did give random, succinct updates. _It keeps talking about Ava._

 _We'll deal with that later._ Xander knocked the head off a Goblin and watched as it dashed in a sparking frenzy toward the Fallen.

 _Valora is talking to the Vanguard,_ Miles warned.

 _She has her orders._

 _She'll tell them the truth about Sorcha's disappearance._

 _Maybe it's time they knew._

 **~o~**

When Valora gave her report to Ikora the atmosphere in the Vanguard Hall got too tense for Cayde to handle. He left to clear his head the second Valora's voice had faded out, despite Zavala's order to stay. There was no way Cayde would be able to think through all this information with him and Ikora yammering in his ear. He walked into the Tower Hanger on autopilot and approached Holliday.

She was inspecting a damaged ship's wing and didn't immediately turn to face him, but he knew she could sense his mood when she carefully asked what was wrong.

"Valora uncovered some stuff about Sorcha's death and, well, it's not good."

Holliday scribbled something down on a clipboard and turned to face him. "How bad is not good?"

Cayde paused, trying to school his Exo features into neutrality, "Ava killed her. There was a fight and things got bad. Xander was there when Ava killed Sorcha's Ghost and Sorcha ran. She told him some half assed explanation involving the Fallen that doesn't really add up, and begged him to lie for her. That was right before she went completely off the grid and Xander showed up with Sorcha's dead Ghost and a lie about how Sorcha was killed in the line of duty."

Holliday furrowed her brow and shook her head. "I never would have thought- not with her."

"There's more."

Holliday leaned against the ship's hull and braced herself for more bad news.

"She went after Valora. Nearly sliced her in half and then tried for her Ghost. According to Valora she just snapped and then left. They haven't seen or heard from her since, and they can't go after her because they're pinned down by a bunch of Vex and Fallen. Besides, I don't think it's wise for Valora to be anywhere near Ava at this point."

"And nobody has a clue as to where she is."

Cayde shook his head. "Girl's a Hunter, it'll take a couple more Hunters and some time to track her down."

"If she uses her Sparrow or her ship I can track those." Holliday said, already walking back toward her desk.

Cayde followed after her. "She'll be expecting that."

"I'll watch for her, just in case. Have you tried talking to her?"

"Every second since Valora began her report. Her Ghost won't even acknowledge me."

"What's the Vanguard's plan?"

"She's too dangerous to be out there. She _never_ should have been out there. Xander lied for her and put a lot of Guardians at risk. Most likely we'll send in a replacement Fireteam to monitor the situation with the Thing. We'll bring Xander and Valora back here and send out another team to bring Ava back. Hopefully she'll come in peacefully."

"And if she doesn't?" Holliday turned to face him.

Not able to meet her eyes Cayde looked out across the hanger at a docking ship. "I don't think there will be any more violence, but then again I didn't think she was capable of these things in the first place."

"Do you really believe she did all of this?"

"I believe there's a big part of the story that we're missing, and only she can fill us in. At this point there's nothing I can do but hope she doesn't make things worse."

Holliday grimaced and continued walking. "Are there any star gazing tours you want me to write off today?"

Cayde chuckled lowly and shook his head. "I'll get back to you on that in a couple hours, if you don't mind."

 **~o~**

Ava wouldn't stop walking. She couldn't stop walking. If she stopped walking there would be no distraction from what she had just tried to do, and what she did do years ago. The sun was completely gone now. It had set slowly, or really quickly, she wasn't sure. She wasn't sure how long she had been walking, or in what direction. She was still in the thick of the jungle, but the terrain had been getting steadily steeper. Nothing made sense at the moment and she didn't really care. She just kept weaving through the trees, blinded by the rain.

"Cayde still demands to speak to you." Greer said softly, still hovering over her shoulder without offering to light her way. "They know."

"Ignore him." She couldn't face this. Xander never should have told Valora, not about Sorcha's betrayal, not about what Ava did about it. Not with all the questions it would invite.

"Go back to the Tower and explain it to them. You know Xander can't tell the whole story for you."

"They'll lock me up." Her chest hurt. Every breath she took was shallower than the last and she wondered if she might just stop breathing all together. Maybe permanent death was better than imprisonment.

"Talk to Cayde."

"No!"

"They aren't going to let you go this time, not now that they know the truth. The Vanguard will send Guardians after you. What will you do about that? Kill all their Ghosts too?"

"Stop talking."

"Why Valora's Ghost?" Greer asked anyway.

"She pissed me off."

"The real reason."

"I panicked."

"Ava-"

Greer finally did stop talking when Ava stumbled over a root into a tree."Please, Greer, I can't. It's too much. I need time." She nearly sobbed, leaning against the trunk.

"You've had years."

"I know." Years of nothing but guilt and shame.

"It's time you told the Vanguard the _entire_ truth."

Tears slid uncomfortably down Ava's cheeks beneath her helmet so she took it off to wipe at her face, ignoring the possible dangers of the Venus atmosphere. "I can't."

"Xander has had your back for too long for you to let him take the fall for this alone. If nothing else, he deserves to know the truth."

Dropping her helm on the ground Ava faced her Ghost. "It's not my story to tell. It's Sorcha's and I can't- I won't let them know why she did what she did. Even what Xander knows isn't as bad as-" she pushed herself away from the tree and kept walking, "as the truth. This way it was just a misunderstanding. It was just a fight. It was just me overreacting. Let them blame me and lock me up because I deserve it, I really do, but I won't let them go after Sorcha."

Greer bobbed up and down in front of Ava's face, floating backwards to keep up with her pace. "Why?"

"Because it doesn't matter what she did she's still my best friend and I still love her."

"What Sorcha did-" Ava swatted at Greer, cutting her off.

"She made a mistake." Ava said firmly, "I dealt with it. It's over. She can't hurt anybody. If she's still alive then she deserves to live in peace."

"You cannot take the blame for everything she did." Greer insisted.

"It's as much my fault as it was her's."

"You tried to stop her."

"I didn't try hard enough." Those were the words that haunted her. She could have saved her friend if only she had tried harder.

Greer made a little Ghost sigh and perched on Ava's shoulder. "You did the best you could."

"Doesn't matter. I still failed." She took in a deep breath, savoring the almost overpowering scent of jungle flowers, but stopped when she sensed something under the sweetness. Something damp and ancient. Ava paused, and was too distracted to grab any of her weapons when Greer yelped out a warning.

A shock blade slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground. She landed on her stomach, and rolled to the side to avoid another slash from the blades. A very angry Vandal stood over her snarling. His next swing was aimed toward Greer, who had been knocked from Ava's shoulder and was suspended in shock. Ava batted her Ghost out of the air with her left hand and took the hit. The blade cut through her armor and into her flesh, but at least Greer was out of the way.

As the Vandal raised his blades to take her head off Ava reached for a smoke bomb and threw it at his face. The cloud of smoke provided enough cover for her to get to her feet and pull a dagger with her uninjured hand. Wary of the Vandals blades she darted forward through the dissipating smoke and slit the Vandal's throat before he could reorient himself.

Stepping back from the crumpled Fallen soldier Ava glanced around, looking for her Ghost or any other threats. _Greer?_

 _Look down and to your left._

Following Greer's direction Ava examined the ground and found a dark hole peeking out from behind large, fan shaped leaves at the base of a group of rocks. _Get out of there, let's go._

 _You come here._

 _My hand._

 _Come down here and then I'll fix it._

Nudging the leaves away from the hole with her foot Ava considered the size. It didn't look big enough for her to fit through, and if it was it would be just barely. She pulled her guns from her back and dropped them on the ground. Invective was beyond repair, nearly cut in half. Her autorifle was more or less intact, so she kicked it into the hole, wincing at the sound it made as it hit the rocks below. Getting her body through the hole wasn't as hard as she thought it would be with the ground so saturated and the rocks slick with rain and she landed with little grace next to her rifle.

Rain and dim light fell through the hole, but it wasn't enough to see by. Greer remained dark, but came over to scan her hand. "Just a flesh wound. Your armor took most of the damage." Greer poured Light into the wound and mended it. "Nothing I can do about the armor."

Ava shrugged and picked up her rifle. "There's no way I'm getting back up there so I hope you have a plan."

"You must be thinking of yourself because _I_ always have a plan." Ava scrunched up her face at the Ghost, a completely useless gesture in the dark. "There's some strange readings in this cave system connected to the Thing. If you're going to go off the rails at least you can still be productive." Greer illuminated the cave and started flying without checking to see if Ava would follow.

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 _ **Sooooo I missed last week and this chapter is super short. I am really sorry about that. My older brother was in town last weekend (hi Ben) and it's the of the school year which means a lot of final stuffs :/ Nine days left and then I'm free and can spend all summer avoiding people!**_

 _ **Little Ava has a secret, did y'all really think the Vanguard would let her waltz around after killing a Ghost? Nope. There shall be an expplanation for her craziness eventually, and she is definitely crazy.**_

 _ **Jayfeattheris Awesome: I should really put "noping" on my resume tbh bc that's all I seem to do anymore ALSO THE AOS FINALE KILLED ME AND CIVIL WAR WAS AMAZING (lowkey spoiler alert) BUCKY JUST WANTS TO EAT HIS PLUMS LET THE BOY EAT HIS PLUMS**_

 _ **Order and Chaos- Qui Iudicant: Slightly disorganized accurately describes my entire life so really I don't blame you for passing over this at first.**_

 _ **I really love the Vex and Ishtar Collective to the point where it's basically my obsession within my obsession for Destiny. It's honestly a problem now.**_

 ** _Thanks for catching my spelling error! Don't worry there's an explanation to why Xander refers to them as "Eliksni" when talking about Sorcha. Also, Sorcha's story will be revealed all in due time. I hope I explained a little bit, especially the Vanguard not knowing the full extent of Ava's involvement in Sorcha's "death" because that is a huuuuuuuhe deal to be killing Ghost's._**

 ** _I really go back and forth on whether Xander is Exo or human so, honestly, he's whatever you want him to be at this point._**


	6. Chapter 6

When the Vanguards replacement team arrived the Vex retreated into the valley, leaving the Fallen to fend for themselves. No more Ketches arrived with reinforcements, but the Fallen didn't fall back like the Vex. They fought the nearly-two teams for a good while before going down.

"You've been summoned back to the tower." one of the Titans on the team informed Xander as the final Dreg fell. Valora clearly already knew.

"What about Ava?" Xander asked carefully. It was clear that nobody was going to offer up any information on his rogue partner without some sort of interrogation.

The two Titans looked at eachother, but it was the unknown Warlock that answered him. "That's no longer your problem."

Xander noticed Valora hold out an arm to stop the other Titans as he stepped toward the Warlock. "Excuse me," he hissed, "but what happens to my friend is most definitely my problem."

The Warlock sized Xander up for a second before speaking. "Cayde sent a couple Hunters after her. You're to return to the Tower and speak to the Vanguard."

Valora tensed. It seemed to Xander that she hadn't known about that. "Are you sure that's the wisest decision?" She started, but the second Warlock cut her off with an distracted wave.

"Direct orders from the Vanguard. You don't have a say."

Xander clenched his teeth. Like hell he didn't have a say. Would this fireteam try to stop him if he went after her? Could they stop him if they tried? "Very well." He said thickly, walking toward the front of the building. The two other Titans followed closely behind him. It seemed the Vanguard had been expecting this and didn't want him doing anything stupid. Well, stupid was Ava's middle name and without her here it was up to him to uphold the expectation of recklessness.

He stopped outside the main doors and glanced over the Fallen corpses littering the ground. His stomach turned and he briefly thought of Sorcha. "The Eliksni deserved better." How much more was there to that story that Ava never told him? Instead of falling into a black hole of questions and half truths Xander shook the thought out of his head and waited for Valora to join him. He would ask for the whole story when he found his friend.

After a long, silent moment of everybody watching Xander carefully Valora brought forth her strangely bright Ghost and summoned her ship first. Xander slowly followed suit. Miles appeared over his palm, very aware of what Xander was planning to do and silently rebuking him.

When Valora's ship dipped low over the clearing and she prepared to transmat Xander summoned his Sparrow instead of his ship and hit the thrusters. He rocketed across the clearing and into the trees. Valora's yell was cut off as she was transmatted into her ship, but the two Titans bellowed furiously.

Xander managed to dodge through the trees for only a few seconds before they got too thick for his Sparrow to maneuver around, but that was all he had needed. He had a head start on the other fireteam and highly doubted they would abandon their main objective of monitoring the Thing to chase him through the jungle. He just had to get far enough in that they would stop following him and return to the building.

They chased him longer than Xander thought they would, but eventually his prediction proved correct and Miles informed him that he was no longer being tracked. It was very possible, however, that he would have more trouble with whatever Hunters Cayde had sent.

"This is a very bad idea." Miles groaned from in front of Xander where he was leading the way with a dim glow. Because the Ghost rarely spoke out loud Xander knew he must be serious, and distracted.

"I guess Ava's rubbed off on me over the years."

"You're going to regret this."

"Probably." How many times had he had the same conversation with Ava? How many times had it ended with explosions and her laughing? Was there ever a time it hadn't? He remembered only one time he had warned her to stop and she hadn't replied with a sarcastic comment, and the whole thing had ended with a broken Hunter clutching her friends Ghost.

"She's still there, isn't she?" Xander whispered, letting his words be heard, not only by the Ghost, but by the eerily silent wildlife around them. "Still on that field crying over a dead Ghost."

"Yes." Miles agreed softly. "She might always be."

Curling his hands into fists Xander picked up his pace. Ava was much faster than him. He just hoped that she had stopped moving at some point and he would be able to catch up to her. Because he wasn't a tracker, Xander had to follow Miles's directions and silently hope that the Ghost knew what he was doing.

He needed to clean up this mess. He needed answers to all the questions he had ignored for years. He needed to make sure Ava wasn't a danger to anybody else. He needed to know she wasn't a danger to herself.

 **~o~**

When the two Titans returned to the building empty handed Valora was sitting in front of the door silently meditating. They mistakenly thought they could sneak past her, but she caught them each around the ankle. "Where did he go?" She asked.

The Titan's looked at each other over her head and bickered over who would have to own up to losing Xander. The shorter one lost. "Uh- See- We don't know."

Valora released the Guardians and set her hands back in her lap without saying another word. The Titans scurried into the building to find their own Warlock without so much as sparing Valora a second glance.

 _Why do you insist on sitting still all the time?_ Aiden's voice was loud and bright in Valora's thoughts.

 _Because you insist on constantly moving_. Valora responded, more than a little amused. She could feel the Ghost's impatience so at odds with her own endless supply.

Aiden appeared from her robes and started doing flips around her head. "Can we go after him?"

"No."

"Then what are we going to do?"

Valora closed her eyes and contemplated Aiden's question. "If this fireteam runs only on nonsense and bad ideas perhaps it's time we join them."

Laughing Aiden slammed into Vaora's visor and plummeted into her lap. "Finally something fun!"

Valora picked up Aiden and held him on her palm at eye level. "You are going to stay safe and out of sight the entire time."

"But-"

"You will do as you are told, little Ghost." Valora cut him off, not ungently.

Dutifully, Aiden blipped out of sight. _Yes, ma'am._

With a small sigh Valora pushed herself to her feet and brushed water off her robes. Aiden's bright energy warmed her stiff fingers and made her smile. She did enjoy the happy little thing's company, but he was never quiet. At that very moment he was humming some Golden Age tune that she wouldn't be able to get out of her head for days.

The Titans didn't move or say a word as she passed them, but the second Warlock followed her up the stairs. She recalled the Titans referring to him as Tod.

"Nobody is supposed to go up there." Tod told her.

She rolled her eyes at him and continued walking. "Thanks for the update, but I do what I want."

Tod seemed unsure of how to react to that for a second, but eventually decided to stop following her.

 _Is he talking to the Vanguard?_ She internally asked Aiden the second Tod dropped out of her sight.

 _Totally!_

 _No need to sound so happy about it._

 _You're finally doing something interesting! I knew you'd finally crack once we got stuck with the crazy people. Do you think Ava really killed a Ghost? Do you think she was really gonna kill me? Why did she leave her sword? Do you think Xander will find her? What if-_

Valora tuned the Ghost out as best she could. At least he was no longer singing.

Boldly pushing open the metal door she stepped through the doorway to face the dark void of nothingness wandering around the room. Though the sun was beginning to rise and light was beginning to once again filter through the dirty, half boarded up windows, the Thing had wrapped itself in darkness again.

Neither of them spoke as Valora took in the room in detail for the first time. The Thing was a little larger than a Hydra, or perhaps just the darkness It surrounded Itself in was, and it had plenty of space to move about in the cavernous, empty room. The floors were concrete, and the walls were smooth and unadorned. Nearly all the medium sized windows were half heartedly boarded up with now rotting wood. The tiny observation room's window was dark one way glass that was impeccably clean.

"How do you like it?" The Thing asked abruptly. "I believe this building used to be offices a very long time ago. I believe this particular room served as a very large meeting hall. It was, of course, redone and reinforce by the Ishtar Collective. The buildings in the valley are newer than this one. The Vex confluxes are older than it all. They're newer than it all, too. They exist in all times at all ages. Interesting, no?"

Valora leaned against the metal door. She didn't remember closing it, but it was closed now and she refused to show her surprise.

"I am sorry. You did not come here to discuss these things. You came to ask about the dead bird."

 ** _DEAD!_** Aiden screamed, and despite herself, Valora winced.

"I should not have worded it that way." The Thing chuckled. "She is not any more dead than the rest of you. Where she is at this exact moment I do not know, but I know where she is in a hundred different times and she is not dead."

"Where is she in other times?" There was no feigning uninterest now.

"They trapped me in space, but they could not trap me in time."

 _I love riddles! Ask It the one about the duck._

Ignoring Aiden, Valora directed all of her annoyance at It instead. "I don't have time for this."

It chuckled, a low, mechanical, spine chilling laugh that echoed through the room until Valora truly wasn't sure it had originated with the black mass drifting toward her. "Time? Time means nothing to me. I have seen things that you can neither imagine or understand. I have stood in this place since before every yesterday, and I will continue to do so for all of eternity."

"That's nice for you, but I do not have such a mastery of time. You said earlier that you could calculate Ava's most likely position."

"Yes, I can."

"Then tell me."

"No."

Valora took a deep breath and released her anger and impatience. The Thing could play this game forever without ever getting bored. It had probably been and probably will be playing this game for a long time. She could not afford a misstep. If this was a game of cleverness, then she was going to win.

"Listen here you ancient, creepy, time-jumping cretin!" Aiden materialized from Valora's Light and zoomed into the room, barely stopping before he was sucked into the void.

"Aiden." Valora started, warningly.

He turned to look at her. "But Valoraaaaaaaaaaaaaa-"

"Aiden!" The angry ghost zoomed toward her, dematerializing half a second before smacking into Valora's chest.

"Strange little creature." The Thing mused. "He is not your original?"

"No, he is not."

It was still drifting closer. "Interesting. Tell me something that I do not know, and I will consider telling you what you want to know."

She considered that. Aiden was still grumbling a long stream of insults and wouldn't stop to weigh in on the situation. The Thing stopped close enough for Valora to reach out and lose her hand in the darkness. "Well?"

She smiled slowly. "Challenge accepted."

 **~o~**

Xander found her helmet first. It was just sitting on the ground, no signs of a fight or anything. The Vandal was next, dead a few steps away and still leaking ether from a gash in his armor. Ava's Invective was next to the vandal, nearly split in half. Then nothing. The constant water dripping from the canopy had washed away any other traces the Hunter might have left.

Xander groaned in frustration and threw a punch at a tree. _If I can't find her before the Vanguard's team-_

 _Either way you're both screwed,_ Miles cut him off _. You just disobeyed direct orders, and she's, well, she's crazy._

 _Ava is not crazy._

 _Honestly, she's probably better off being crazy than in her right mind at the moment._

Xander conceded the point and took a closer look at the vandal. Ava had slashed open its throat, but that was the only damage. No bullet holes in the armor or anything. Why fight with a knife against shock blades?

 _Why go after Aiden? Has anything she's done recently made any sense._

Groaning Xander looked around hoping to see anything he missed pretending he didn't hear Miles so he wouldn't have to admit that his Ghost was right once again.

He still hadn't seen the Hunters and he was starting to get the feeling that they had already found him. They were probably laughing at him spinning in slow circles and desperately trying to do a Hunter's job. He kept trying to remember all the random things Ava had told him about tracking, usually with an exasperated tone and an annoyed eyeroll. Mostly, she just told him to shut the hell up and be patient. That was not going to help him this time.

Miles caught his attention with a soft whirring and directed Xander's attention toward an outcropping of rocks that stuck up through the vegetation randomly. He looked it over and saw nothing of interest. Confused he glanced back at his Ghost. Miles nodded toward the ground at the base of the rocks. Xander looked down at the area and still saw nothing. He looked back at Miles.

With more than a little attitude in his little mechanical body Miles flew forward toward and awkward looking bushthing and disappeared under it. _Dude, pay attention won't you._

 _When did we start saying "dude"?_ Xander asked, kneeling on the ground and pulling the large leaves away from a deep hole. He realized the reason for the poor plants awkward leaning was that many of the leaves had been damaged and bent. Such an important thing that he had totally missed.

 _She went that way._ Miles directed his beam of light away into the cave for a brief second before focusing back on the hole. I don't think you're going to fit. We'll have to find another entrance, but then it may not be possible to track her.

 _Of course. We might as well look._ Xander stepped away from the rocks and scanned the trees. He didn't see anything, but still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

 _Do you really think following her is the best course of action?_

 _Suggest another._

Miles rose from the cave and hovered at eye level, still casting a dim glow through the thick trees. Despite the rising sun the canopy was too thick to let much light through. _Return to the Tower. Follow orders._

Sighing, Xander leaned against the rocks and crossed his arms. _I can't do that, and you know it._

 _Then, ask the Hunters._

Xander didn't bother asking what Miles meant. He silently waited until, a few moments later, the three Hunters slipped out of the trees. They were each much closer to him than Xander was comfortable with, especially considering that he hadn't noticed any of them coming. Cayde clearly wasn't messing around.

He recognized them from random sightings in the Tower. They came in, grabbed a couple bounties, talked to the Vanguard, then left again for who knows how long. A Fireteam of silent, watchful Hunters, and they were all staring at him.

"Hello." Miles greeted them when Xander didn't.

There was a rustle of fabric and one of the Hunters nodded in acknowledgement. "What's your plan, Xander."

"He doesn't have one." Miles continued to talk for him. That was fine, Xander didn't feel like carrying on a conversation.

The smallest Hunter shifted their weight and tossed their head toward to hole Xander was standing next to.

"We have a job to do." The same Hunter continued. "We aren't out to get Ava. In fact, we have a lot of respect for her as a fellow Hunter, but we have our orders. She just needs to go back to the Tower and talk to the Vanguard."

Miles paused, waiting to see if Xander would say something, but went on when he didn't. "We are aware of the situation, but he's worried about her and would like to come along."

The Hunters were quiet for a moment, clearly discussing what the Ghost said.

"Go back to the Tower."

 _Oh no,_ Miles sighed as Xander finally spoke. "Okay, now I'm going to have to fight you."

 **~ASDFJKL;~**

 _ ** **Hello friends I return :) Sorry for my random absence that happens sometimes. School ended and then there was some family drama and surprise surprise we might move across the country in a couple months, so I ended up hiding from reality for a while. eeeeeeeeek The last chapter had such a rough ending! I kinda fixed it, but I still need to go back and really work on that. And I'm not so sure about this one. It's definitely not as long as I wanted it to be, once again. I don't think I will be entirely consistent this summer due to all of the stuff going on, especially if we end up moving. I am reeeaaaalllyyyy sorry for that. I try to be at least somewhat consistent, but life right now is not working with me so, sadly, my writing will probably get pushed to the back burner. Anyway, I'm currently a babbling mess so I'll stop talking now before I embarrass myself any more than I already have.****_

 _ ** **A thankyou to my silent readers out there please drop in and tell me what you think every once in a while though :)****_

 _ ** **Order an Chaos- Qui Iudicant: yeah that bit with Cayde and Holliday was very similar to the Taken King which was not entirely intentional, but that's how it turned out and I love that scene so I left it.f Sorcha doesn't still have her Ghost. Xander returned it to the Tower after its death, which comes in later and is kinda important. I'm happy that you are pleased with how things are going! I'm sorry that this response is short and probably doesn't make much sense I am not having much luck functioning like an actual human being recently.****_


	7. Chapter 7

Greer finally stopped moving through the twisting tunnels when a smooth, metal door blocked her path. It was huge, more suited for a hanger than a secret entrance deep under the ground. There wasn't any way to get anything needing a door that big down here. Ava had had to abandon her autorifle after the first couple minutes so she could squeeze through a crevice, and there were a few times she thought she wasn't going to fit through a narrow part of the cave. It felt almost like her Ghost was trying to punish her, and would likely have left Ava behind in the dark had she got stuck.

"Who needs a door this big all the way down here?" She asked, hoping her Ghost would finally acknowledge her after the silent journey.

Greer went about scanning the door and it's control panel without a sound.

Groaning, Ava leaned against a rock. So, the silent treatment would continue. Which was fine, silence didn't bother her.

"I can still contact the Vanguard if you want to talk to somebody." Greer offered.

"No thanks."

No answer.

"And you call me immature." Ava remarked, picking at the tear in her gauntlets. Greer had healed the wound, and rebooted the slight shield that her armor offered, but couldn't do anything about the actual damage to the armor. She could get it fixed at the Tower. If she ever went back to the Tower.

The door creaked open, inching up into the ceiling. Greer jerked back toward Ava suddenly, sent out a distress call, and dematerialized. Ava didn't have time to react before a wave of sterile air slammed into her, making her step back, and completely obliterating the dusty, ancient smell of the grey rocks that made up the cave system. Under the chemical smell there was something metallic that coated her tongue and made her fingers tingle.

 _Close the door._

Ignoring her Ghost Ava stepped forward and stopped where rock turned to tile. _I'm sorry, did you say something? It's been so long since I heard you speak I don't remember what you sound like._

 _I'm serious Ava. Do_ not _go in there._

 _I'm_ so _going in there._

 _Ava-_

 _Hush._ She was already stepping over the threshold, ignoring her Ghost's warnings. The room was huge, lit by the harsh florescent lights that lined the high ceiling. The walls were white, the floor white, she couldn't actually see the ceiling, but she assumed it was also white. Placed in exact rows throughout the room were pristinely preserved vehicles. She stopped next to an early Sparrow in the middle of the room and tapped her fingers against its shiny, white plating. No dust. "Suspicious." She spoke quietly, but her voice echoed.

 _How so?_

"I am not entirely sure yet."

Though she summoned her, Greer refused to reappear at Ava's side. _I don't like this. Go back to the cave. Contact the Vanguard._

"Not a chance."

 _I thought so. There should be a door straight ahead._

Giving the Sparrow a meditative pat Ava followed Greer's direction, weaving through small ships and other machinery she wasn't familiar with and couldn't fathom the actual use of. Everything was white, pristine, and smelt strongly of chemicals. Above ground the jungle had retaken the buildings. The Academy in the Ishtar Sink was overgrown with plants and filled with little scurrying things. Here it was silent and dead. She hated it. Her head hurt and her footsteps echoed in the open room, making her feel vulnerable, especially without a gun. Paranoid, Ava pulled a knife from her belt and flipped it between her hands as she walked. The sound of the hilt hitting her palms was somehow louder than her steps.

"You sent out a distress call." Ava said, remembering her Ghost's sudden outburst when the first door opened as she approached the second, much smaller door.

 _Yes._

"Was it impeded by the rocks?" A chill was creeping up Ava's neck. She paused in front of the door for a moment before tapping the tiny control panel. It slid open to reveal florescent lights flickering to life down a long, stark hallway.

 _It was able to reach the surface._

Adjusting the grip on her knife Ava shrugged her shoulders and stepped into the hallway. "Good."

 _This is a bad idea._

"Yeah, but it's gonna be fun."

 _You always say that before something terrible happens._

"Just give me directions." Ava laughed, ignoring the urge to cover up her nose to block out the smell. Xander was going to give her an endless lecture about taking her helmet off. Forget the Vanguard, she would never make it past her overprotective partner.

 _Focus. Turn right._

She stopped where the hallway branched off to the right. If she continued straight the hallways was well lit and clean. If she turned right the lights flickered creepily, eventually going out altogether where the ceiling began to cave in.

"Of course there's a creepy hallway. There's always a creepy hallway."

 _You love creepy hallways._

Scrunching up her face Ava started down the hallway. "That does not make them any less creepy, hence the title." At least the chemical smell was now mixed with the more pleasant smell of the rock, but the strange metallic _energy_ was stronger.

In the first hallway there had been the occasional, tightly shut, door, but here there were none. Just a long hallway. Everything was still white, except here it was covered in debris and grey rock dust. _Inches_ of dust, so thick it completely silenced her steps.

The chills started spreading down Ava's arms until she remembered an old movie and started laughing so hard she had to lean against the wall. "Hey, Greer." She said through the bursts of giggles.

 _No. Don't._

"I got chills… they're multiplying."

 _Please stop._

"And I'm losing all control," She was singing horribly off key now, "'cause the power you're supplying, it's electrifying!" She dissolved back into laughter, ignoring Greer, who would have been facepalming had she been physically able.

It took five minutes of laughing on the floor before Ava finally quieted.

 _Are you going to start making puns again?_ Greer asked seriously. _I don't miss that._

She groaned, the smile falling from her lips as she pushed herself to her feet. "Maybe later."

 _Probably during a serious moment. Probably right before you die._

"Probably." Ava agreed, sidestepping a chunk of rock. "How much longer am I going to have to walk?"

 _There isn't a door until the very end of the hallway. It might take a couple minutes to walk._

"Of course. Because it wouldn't be any fun to have a short creepy hallway. No, we have to go all the way to the end of a mile long, dark, and deserted hall. Harder to get back to the safe, well lighted part of the building."

 _You do know how far down we are from the surface, right?_

"Very far." She sighed. "I guess your point is there isn't a 'safe place' to get to down here."

 _Exactly. I told you not to come in here._

Ava rolled her eyes and hushed her Ghost. "Don't worry so much."

 _You need to worry more._ Greer retorted.

Shrugging off the comment Ava started flipping her knife between her hands again. The blade caught the dim light and reflected it in dancing patterns on the wall. She had passed under the last barely flickering light and was now entering complete darkness. Greer still refused to appear to light the way, but Ava preferred the dark. If she couldn't see her enemy, they did not get to see her either.

 _Xander has responded to the distress call, but it could take him hours to find his way down here._

"Good." Ava mumbled, fighting the urge to run back down the hallway. It was the same feeling she had when approaching the Thing's light. "I have a very bad feeling that this is the part of the horror movie where the audience is screaming for me to turn back."

Greer sighed. _But you aren't going to._

Ava stopped playing with her knife and pulled another, one for each hand. "There would be no fun in that."

 _There would be no reckless danger in that either._

"Exactly my point."

 _Not a very sharp point._

"I'll make my points as dull as I want to! Don't tell me how to live my life."

 _Be careful._ Greer broke off the banter to give her Guardian one last warning as Ava tapped a control panel next to the only door at the end of the hallway and it jerked open.

"Oh my- The plot has thickened."

 _I think I want to switch to a children's book now._

For once, Ava had to agree with her Ghost. After the door there was nothing of the shining white. This room was nothing more than a cave. Nothing interesting, except for the fully functional Vex gate casting a blue glow on the grey rock. It was small, but the energy from it was strong. It made Ava sick, and blurred the edges of her vision.

She stepped toward the gate.

 _Don't-_

"I'm gonna."

Slowly reaching out one of her hands, still clutching the knife tightly, Ava watched the gate ripple around the blade. She'd stepped through Vex gates before, but this one was different. And she didn't have a helmet, or a gun.

 _The gate is giving off the same energy readings as the Thing. Vex, but not…_ Greer trailed off and Ava knew she longed to scan the strange object, but she still refused to appear.

"What was the Ishtar Collective messing with?" Ava sighed and withdrew her hand, noticing it was shaking as she did.

 _We should leave now._

Clutching her knives Ava nodded and, though she knew it wasn't what Greer meant, stepped into the gate.

 **~O~**

Thing was wandering around the room as It talked, like It was reluctant to stay still. Perhaps It and Aiden would get along well. "Are you simply thinking? Does it take you so long to formulate a thought, small human creature?"

"I'm not human." Valora snapped. She wasn't sure why it offended her so much, but it did. Aiden had stopped grumbling and gone silent at the word too, or maybe how It _said_ the word was what stopped her Ghost's complaining.

"You were once, generations ago. And even now you are not as different as you would like to be."

"As _I_ would like to be?" Valora suddenly felt very defensive. She wondered, if she threw a fireball directly at Thing, would she be able to see It?

"Broadly speaking."

Valora fought the urge to roll her eyes, or throw something. "Clarify."

"Your people."

"My _people_ ," Valora bit out, "are the Guardians protecting the Last City."

"Yes, I suppose, in this life they are. The Queen, after all, has abandoned those of you that walk the Tower halls and City streets. Do you suppose she's dead?"

"The- the Queen?" Valora furrowed her brows, confused by the sudden turn of conversation.

"Yes. She faced the Dreadnaught, did she not? Or am I not in the right moment?"

Valora's expression melted back into bored uninterest. "She did, yes."

"Do you think she's still alive?"

Valora considered the question carefully. There was not much logical reasoning to support the Queen's survival, at least, not any that she had heard, but… "Yes."

"I suspected as much, you were close to the royal family once upon a time."

 _How does It know?_ Aiden asked, too loud for Valora's liking.

"We aren't here to talk about me." she said sharply instead of asking Aiden's question out loud.

"But would you like to know?" It asked, turning toward her, or she assumed as much not being entirely sure which was Thing's front. "I could tell you a story."

She wanted to know. But that wasn't her mission. "How about the story of where Ava is?"

"That story is not quite as interesting as yours, my dear. Or would you prefer majesty?"

 _What?_

 _It's lying, Aiden. I don't buy any of this for a second._ Valora said calmly to her Ghost, and then to It she said, "I want to know Ava's story."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She bit out the word before she could change her mind.

"Then tell me something that I do not know. Astound me with your knowledge, majestic Warlock."

"Sometimes," Valora started softly, and a little unsure, "when I run my left knee makes a funny popping sound."

Thing chuckled, moving toward Valora again. "Very clever. I will admit that I did not contain that knowledge and I will keep my word." It paused, both in speaking and in moving.

"We're waiting." Aiden appeared over Valora's shoulder despite her insistence that he stay hidden.

"Yes, small one, I apologise. The bird will return here many times in the near future. I suggest waiting." Thing started drifting away again, clearly done with the conversation.

"Excuse you," Valora snapped, "but that is not the answer I asked for. When will she be back?"

"I told you-"

"Relative to this moment."

"I am not sure. Your conception of time is not fully known to me. I do not know the terms to relay it to you."

"You don't know?"

"I misspoke. I do not care. I can tell you one thing that will interest you. She is no longer in the cave. She left behind her rifle and a tampered with Vex gate, a gate I believe no longer works."

"Are you telling me she went through a Vex gate?"

"Yes, I believe that was the order of events described to me."

"How do you know this?"

"She told me."

"When?"

"I can not convey that information to you in terms that you will understand."

"Try me."

"Earlier in the future."

"Thank you, you major pain in the ass." Aiden said when Valora didn't respond. She simply shrugged and tugged the door open. If 'earlier in the future' was the closest thing to an answer that she was going to get, then she would take it.

 **~O~**

Xander was just about to try his luck with the shortest Hunter when Greer's distress call sent a jolt of panic through him. There was no hint of Ava in the message, just Greer bluntly stating that backup would be required. The smallest Hunter immediately slipped into the cave, so quickly that Xander nearly missed it. The other two glanced at each other before one stated simply, "You'd just slow us down."

In the space of a blink they were gone and Xander was left staring wide-eyed at the crack in the earth that eventually led to his friend. He was about to smash his fists into the ground and unleash Arc energy against the cursed cave he couldn't fit into when Valora's voice stopped him.

"Xander are you listening to me?"

"What could you possibly want now?" he growled, shooting a dirty look at Miles for letting the transmission through.

"She's not in the cave. Or she won't be. Not by the time anyone gets down there, anyway. All the Hunters will find down there will be a burned out gate and her rifle."

"Her rifle? How do you know this?"

"I talked to Thing."

"How does the Thing know this?" Xander asked bewilderment eclipsing his panic. He wasn't sure he was following this conversation at all and even Miles was starting to look confused as well.

"Because Thing just talked to _her._ Honestly, keep up."

"What!?"

"Just come back here it'll be easier to explain in person. I'll draw you a diagram if it helps."

Turning from the hole and its sad plant Xander started jogging back through the trees toward the building.

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 _ **What's up? Did y'all miss me? I have returned triumphant with more words! And also sleep deprivation so sorry in advance ;) Things is happening now so prepare yourselves because next chapter things get real (or realer I guess)**_

 _ **Jayfeatheris Awesome- Aiden is my fave at this point I think. I'm not sure why I'm so in love with this little Ghost, but I am and I wish he was mine. Yes, major Variks fan. It started with making fun of him in POE, but now he's bae. I have an obsession with the mysterious alien types I guess. Aaaaaand that reference to GotG gave me LIFE I swear it you're my most favoritest person. I beg of you to stick around and continue to review**_ _ **(even though I find myself unable to help you in your naming en devours I'm sorry about that)**_

 _ **jsm1978- Hello and welcome! I'm glad that you found yourself interested in my humble little fic as well. Please, enjoy my words.**_


	8. Chapter 8

"That was a ridiculously bad idea," Greer started to lecture as soon as Ava was out of the gate, stumbling away from it with her hands pressed over her ears. "How do you expect to get back?"

Her head throbbing, Ava turned back to the gate. It had gone dark, and through the rusted framework she could see a rather gigantic sun. She glanced at Greer, then back at the sky.

"Mercury." Greer said simply, answering Ava's silent question.

"Well, shit."

"Near Caloris Basin. The Vertigo arena is somewhere around hereish." Greer said after making a small blip of agreement as she looked over the edge of the generously large platform the gate had spit them out on. Ava looked back at the burned out gate and scrunched up her face at it. She would have said a few choice words as well, if her head didn't hurt too bad to think them up.

Glancing behind her, it took Ava a second to realize that she was searching for Xander, and another second to realize he wouldn't be there. Looking around for him when she was out of ideas was second nature to her at this point. Sometimes in the back of her mind it was Sorcha she looked over her shoulder for, but she did her best to forget that as soon as it happened. It had been a long time since she had truly been alone without another Guardian to have her back.

"Do you have a plan yet?" Greer asked when Ava finally decided to take in the rest of her surroundings.

The scene was familiar for this part of Mercury. Floating structures and seemingly randomly placed Vex gates on the larger groupings. The gates Ava could see from her position were burned out and useless, but perhaps on closer examination they wouldn't be completely useless. She stopped scanning the area when her eyes landed on a Cabal Harvester. It was suspended next to one of the platforms and appeared to be completely lifeless.

Not taking her eyes from the ship Ava motioned for Greer to turn around. "Do you see the-"

"Yep. I don't detect any life, but we would need to get closer to be sure."

"Yeah," Ava said turning to reexamine the horizon, "which one?" She gave up counting once she hit triple digits. All Harvesters. All just… waiting.

"Your language choices might be appropriate for this situation."

Cracking a grin at her Ghost for acknowledging her tendency to swear overzealously, Ava started backing up to the far edge of the platform. Her eyes locked on the closest Cabal ship, she secured her knives and started running.

"This is not a recommended course of action!" Greer yelled after her, but Ava was already leaping across the gap between platforms. She did note, however, that Greer was starting to sound a bit like Miles.

She hit the ground hard, dropped into a roll, and let the momentum push her faster when she came back up running. The next platform was a farther jump, and nothing more than a little cube. Too small to hit running, but too far to _not_ hit running.

"Greer!" Ava shrieked as her foot pushed off from her current platform and she threw herself into empty space. The Ghost found, then directed Ava's attention to a crack in the odd, somehow mechanical looking texture of the cube.

Trusting her knife to hold up Ava pulled it from her belt and jammed the blade into the crack Greer had shown her without giving herself a moment to think her plan through. Her arms strained as she swung uncontrollably under her buried knife and tried to keep from getting whiplash, but the blade held.

"I did not think that would work." Greer mumbled as Ava finally got her swinging under control and began to haul herself up onto solid, yet floating, ground. "I was nearly certain you were gonna fall, in a darkness zone no less."

There was barely enough room for Ava to sit on it with her legs tucked under her as she surveyed the Cabal ship only a step away. She refused to look down. Vertigo had been aptly named and she didn't want a distraction that could be avoided. "I find your lack of faith disturbing," she said to Greer in a gravely voice before sucking in a loud breath and letting it out in an equally loud woosh. She wasn't sure if it was the Vex technology, the atmosphere, or both, but she was a little light headed and starting to feel just a bit loopy. "I need one of those… um, those vwoo vwoo light sticks…" Trailing off and shaking her head slightly she refocused on her task.

Standing up on the small, floating cube was an accomplishment considering Ava's growing dizziness, but she managed not to fall, or start laughing, as Greer took her time finding a way into the Harvester. "Hey, Greer?"

The Ghost made a small humming noise of acknowledgement.

"Where are we on the timeline?"

Greer stopped scanning for a moment to think, then turned to Ava. "I'm not following your train of thought."

Of course. Ava was starting to have trouble following her own train of thought. It was possible the train had derailed. Stifling the urge to start laughing again at the image of a toy train careening off one of those train tables, she tried to sort through her murky thoughts. "I mean, we know _where_ we are, well, kind of, but _when_ are we? At least, relative to where we were."

Greer's shell expanded slightly as she thought.

Ava kept talking. "Isn't that what It said? Trapped in space but not in time?"

"I don't remember that." Greer said, concerned, inching toward Ava.

"Oh, yeah." Ava shook her head again and blinked rapidly. The memory slipped away and it took her a second to reorient herself. "I don't either. I don't think that was mine."

Greer watched Ava for a heartbeat, then turned back to the Cabal ship. "You should not have walked through that gate."

"No, no I should not… have… not have… not have… Doesn't that sound kinda funny when you say it over again?"

One of the panels on the side of the Harvester groaned open and Greer herded her Guardian into the ship before she could fall off her cube.

Fully aware that she was starting to babble and was making no sense Ava stumbled through the Harvester after Greer. "I wonder what they talk about in here." she deepened her voice to mock the Cabal's usual grunting and said, "So, Pig-face, how's the wife and kids? Some weather we're having. How 'bout them local sports teams, eh? Real local and, uuumm, sporty."

"Do you even know any sports?" Greer asked.

"I know that one." Ava answered in her normal voice. "The one with that ball that's in the tower. The ball with the triangles- no, they're not triangles. Whatever, it's got shapes. Also, shooting things! I know that sport." Ava only stopped talking when she ran into the pilot's seat, but only for a second. "Hey! Who put that there?" she whined, then suddenly jumped back.

A Psion pilot sat in the chair diligently flying the Harvester and Ava swore she could feel the ship moving before she blinked and the chair was empty again.

Greer was mumbling as she scanned the various instruments in the cockpit, not noticing her Guardians distress. "There's no signs of life anywhere, but all these ships are fully stocked and their propulsion systems are set to keep them here indefinitely. I think we jumped way into the past. We're somewhere before the Vanguard launched their first wave of exploratory ships to Mercury. You'll have to find a Vex gate able to take you to the right time. I'd add 'and place', but that doesn't seem nearly as important."

"No," Ava was staring through the windshield at a collection of platforms and gates, "I think place is exactly what we need." She gave up trying to sort through the different realities before her. For a moment Cabal swarmed over the distant structures, then Vex, then there was nothing, but it was the flashes of Guardians leaping through the gates that gave Ava hope. "Vertigo," she breathed, "remind me to give Shaxx a big 'ol kiss when we get back to the Tower."

Greer followed Ava's gaze. "Are you sure this will work."

Ava blinked the familiar platforms into emptiness and focused on the time she was in. "I think-" she paused as Cabal flashed through her vision, then continued shakier, "I think it already has."

Finally realizing what was going on in Ava's head Greer stopped scanning for information and started to look for an way into the propulsion system. "If you're already hallucinating you might not be able to take another jump through a gate."

"This isn't hallucination, Greer. This is knowledge. I just can't understand it yet." Her last words were barely audible as she swayed and fell into the pilot seat.

"You're going to break your brain trying."

"I know." Ava dragged her fingers through her hair. It was usually kept out of her face by a tight braid down her back, but without a helmet it had come undone quickly. She had closed her eyes, hoping that it would keep her from seeing into different… realities? Times? Just plain hallucinations? She didn't know anymore.

All Ava knew was that her head hurt and that she couldn't keep herself from falling into a memory from a past life.

 **~o~**

 _It circled her and she just stood there, steadfastly refusing to react, her arms crossed across her chest. "I can't help you if you don't talk to me."_

" _I have talked to you many times. I have talked to many different_ yous. _You are incapable of understanding me." It replied. This morning It had been bright and talkative, though It only talked in abstract riddles, but now It had retreated into a cloud of darkness and would hardly reply._

" _Then what do you want me to do? People are in danger and you claim to have the ability to help, but you won't." She kept her face impassive, struggling not to show any emotion._

" _I want you to understand."_

 _She dug her fingernails into her arm and closed her eyes for a moment before responding. "Understand what?"_

" _Understand madness."_

 _Not sure how to respond to that she changed the topic of the conversation quickly, hoping that It would continue to answer her questions. This was the most straightforward discussion she'd been able to get in months. "What is your name."_

 _It paused for a moment, just a slight hesitation that was barely perceptible to her. "I do not know if I ever had one."_

" _Who put you here."_

" _You did."_

" _I don't remember doing so."_

" _You haven't done it yet."_

" _What can I do to help you?" It was not a question that she should have asked. It wasn't relevant to their research and she swore she could hear a groan and a swear from the tiny observation room. But she felt guilt for something she wasn't even sure she had done, or would do, and pity for a trapped creature. It seemed to be lost in It's own head, gone mad with the time It had spent in this room._

" _You cannot do anything, but die in the right place at the right time. Somebody entirely different will do the rest."_

 _She blinked, the shock settling onto her features. It drifted away from her, slowly sucking the light from the entire room, and signaling the end of It's cooperation. She left before the room was pitch black, ignoring the curious glances of the others that had been listening in on the conversation._

 _The second she slammed the door to her quarters she grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, which happened to be a figurine, and threw it at the far wall. The tiny, glass bird shattered against the wall, the noise only serving to set her more on edge._

 _Kicking discarded clothes and notebooks out of her way she made her way to her bed and fell into with a frustrated sigh. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes before holding them above her face and examining them. Her palms had been examined by a fortune teller once and she had been told that she would have good luck and a long life. She supposed so far that was true as she turned her hands to look at the thin scars decorating the back of her hands that extended up her arms._

 _She had fallen from a cliff on Earth in her childhood. It was a fall that would have killed her, if it hadn't been broken by a cluster of trees. Trees whose branches and needles had left their mark on her skin. Now the phrase "know it like the back of my own hand" nearly made her laugh. She supposed, if she could remember the size and shape of every tiny scar, she would be able to remember anything._

 _Her thoughts were interrupted by someone banging insistently on her door. Making a face she rolled out of bed and went to face whatever crisis was waiting on the other side._

 **~o~**

She spent the first three hours back at the Tower in the bathroom retching into a toilet. At one point she shoved Greer through the door and slammed it shut to avoid the Ghost's concerned mutterings, and then she'd curled up on the floor, her cheek pressed into the cool tile.

According to Greer, the Ghost had managed to pilot the Harvester to what would become the Vertigo arena, reconfigure one of the gates, and talk the delirious Hunter through it. Apparently, randomly appearing during a Crucible match babbling and without a helmet causes quite the commotion. Who knew.

Ava was just in the middle of contemplating a swift death via Cabal tank when Xander shoved open the door. She was lying so close to it that the door actually pushed her across the floor a bit and she would have giggled if she had the energy.

"I hope you're rethinking your decision to take your helmet off on Venus, and then walk through a Vex gate with no weapons." There was no sympathy in Xander's voice.

"I hope you're here to tell me that the world is ending in the next five minutes." She shot back without moving.

"Seriously," she heard him slide down the wall into a, probably cramped, sitting position against the door, "what were you thinking?"

"I never think," Ava mumbled into the tile while trying to ignore another wave of nausea. "Plus, the Traveler terraformed Venus." She added when the nausea subsided.

"Yeah, like forever ago. Do you know how many volcanoes and shit has happened since then? Not to mention the real problem is the Vex stuff, which you literally walked through without protection."

"I had knives."

"Knives aren't-"

Ava finally lifted her head to give him a weak glare. "Knives are everything, my friend."

"Whatever. Get up, you need to talk to the Vanguard in ten minutes."

Letting her head fall back to the floor Ava groaned. "Noooooooooo," she whined, "let the Darkness take me now. I am dead."

Xander stood, banging his elbow on the sink and swearing as he did so, then reached down to pull Ava to her feet. She pouted, but let him. He didn't say a word when she pulled away from him and gagged over the sink. With nothing left in her stomach she just heaved painfully before spitting into the sink and turning back to Xander. "Will you carry me?" She teased, pushing her lips out into a pout.

Xander rolled his eyes, but seeing how much she was shaking did as she asked. "You know, you're pretty pathetic." He mumbled as he swept her up into his arms.

Ava just shrugged slightly, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned her head against his chest.

Most of the Vanguard steadfastly refused to react when Xander carried Ava into a room off the Hall and set her down gently on a chair. Most of them. Cayde grinned as wide as his Exo features allowed, effectively telling the both of them that they would never hear the end of it. A hint of a smile remained as he looked Ava over, along with the rest of the Vanguard and Xander.

She was tiny without her armor on. Though Ava was a little taller than average height she was thin, especially after throwing up for most of the morning. If that wasn't bad enough, she was still shaking and she sat leaning against Xander, who stayed standing beside her. At least, if she was in for a boat load of punishment her pathetic appearance would help her out a bit. Of course, given the charges, probably not much.

Opening her mouth to say something sarcastic was too much work, so Ava just looked at Cayde and waited for the yelling to start. Cayde's faint smile finally fell away when he realized the Hunter was too exhausted and beat to make a joke.

Commander Zavala was the first to speak. "Do you deny that you killed Sorcha's Ghost." The atmosphere in the room instantly darkened.

Transferring her gaze from Cayde to Zavala was an effort, but she forced herself to meet Zavala's eyes. "No, sir."

There was a too long pause before Cayde was the one to ask "Why?"

Ava glanced at him, then looked at the ground and bit her lip. She couldn't answer that question. Even if it damned her, she _wouldn't_ answer that question.

Xander nudged her with his elbow. She remained silent.

"Ava," Ikora started softly, but not all that gently.

She shook her head, blinking Ikora into focus as she realized she had been reaching for a knife that wasn't there. Her instincts were screaming at her to pick either fight or flight, but she didn't have the energy for either. It took Ava a second to realize somebody was talking, and another second to force her mind to hold onto the words.

"-consequences. This is a serious-" Ikora was cut off when Ava shrieked and pressed her heels into the floor so hard her chair slid backwards.

Blinking quickly Ava tried to apologise as the forms in front of her blurred back to the Vanguard, but nearly screamed again when she caught the flash of three unknown, but somehow familiar, mechanical bodies. One of them stepped toward her and she slid out of her seat, coming close enough to falling that one of her hands hit the ground and pushed her back to her feet, before her eyes refocused on Cayde holding his hands up placatingly.

There was a rustle of movement, then someone was lightly touching her shoulder. Ava whipped her head around and saw Xander, for a second, until his familiar face morphed into another metal one she couldn't quite make out through shadow. "Ava?" he said, but his voice came out too mechanical and cold.

Ava elbowed him hard in the gut before ducking past him and stumbling out the door. She found herself standing in the Vanguard Hall, then a cave on Venus, then a painfully bright room where harsh laughter echoed off the walls. Movement behind her sent Ava running again, adrenaline giving her balance through her pounding headache. She stopped when Eris stepped from behind her table.

Eris and her creepy rock. Ava hated that damn rock, but the rock didn't change. Eris in her dark, creepiness stayed the same, even as the stairs blurred into cracked stone and the light briefly flickered blue. Voices behind her switched from familiar to sinister, but Eris stayed the same. Eris, who Ava liked even if most Guardians skirted around her with their heads down.

"Guardian?" Eris asked, stepping forward. She held up a hand and the movement behind Ava stopped.

Ava was sobbing, desperately trying to hold on to reality as she focused on Eris's face. "Is this what it's like?" she asked, gripping her head in her hands. "Is this what It meant?"

Eris seemed to relax a bit, what Ava could see of her face melted into understanding, but whatever she was going to do next she didn't get the chance. Ava went rigid, tilting her head slightly to the side and asked in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Why are the dead walking?"

 **~o~**

Xander paced back and forth in front of the door of Ava's room. She was sleeping now, more like unconscious, but at least she wasn't screaming. Or crying. Or babbling nonsense. Or trying to kill somebody.

He didn't know how she had managed to get a hold of Cayde-6's knife. It wasn't until he had felt the tip pierce his armor that he reacted. He had grabbed her wrist, but she didn't let go. She just kept forcing the blade into his chest, her eyes wild, so he'd tried to twist it out of her grasp. He had felt the bone break and heard her scream like he was standing outside his body. It didn't feel real. Then she sobbed and talked too fast to understand until she passed out.

Now she was still and quiet, buried in a pile of cloaks because she apparently didn't own any actual blankets. Greer was hovering over her, silent in her worry. Ikora didn't have an explanation beyond Ava's exposure to the Vex technology. What worried Xander most, however, was that Cayde-6 had been serious and grim since the "incident".

It had only been a few hours since he had been on Venus and Valora had been adamantly describing her conversation with the Thing. What kept him sane at the moment was the Thing's words, whether true or not, that she would be back to talk to It. Valora was still there, searching excitedly for information. She seemed to have put something together and was in her own little Warlock world.

"What do the Vex want with Thing?" Valora had asked Xander moments before he had received the news that Ava had turned up in the Crucible. "And why are they waiting?" Then she had started her search for information, scouring the building, and accepting the reluctant help of the other Warlock.

So far there was no update from her.

Xander was stuck waiting. Waiting for Valora to find something, for Ikora to find something, for Ava to wake up and make sense. Something. Anything.

"Hey," Cayde pushed open the door and slid in, "Ikora thinks she'll recover with time."

Clenching his teeth Xander nodded, but kept pacing.

Cayde picked his way through her room, carefully stepping over various objects on the floor. He stopped next to a plush chair, pulling a couple books from the seat and looking them over. "Venus." he said, holding one up. It was an old volume about the history of the Ishtar sink. The one after that was a novel set in Golden Age Venus. Cayde paused at the third one, setting the first two gently back on the chair. "What's this?"

Xander glanced at the fragile journal in Cayde-6's hands and finally stopped moving. "She found that in the building. One of the scientists journals, I think. Greer," he turned to the bot, "why is it in here?"

"Ava wanted to look it over before the Vanguard did." Greer didn't look away from her Guardian as she spoke. "She asked me to keep it secret until she had a chance to do so after she found it. When she got back to the Tower she was too sick to read it so it was left there."

Cayde-6 spent a moment carefully turning the pages, before shutting it gently. "Ikora will want to see this right away." He looked over at Ava before turning to the door. "Good thing it wasn't you who walked through those gates. I doubt a Titan would be able to survive something like that."

Finally, Xander let his shoulders slump as he smiled faintly at the jab the Hunter Vanguard had made.

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 ** _You know that feeling when you write something and you just got to take a moment to appreciate yourself because you're just so damn clever? I like that feeling. This chapter was fun. It sorta pulls together some things that I would definitely be questioning if I was reading this and a few loose ends that were bugging me, whether any of you noticed or not. A lot of this I wrote at camp really late at night because I'm a youth counselor so I didn't have time during the day. I'm actually only home for today due to my anxiety and I'm heading back tomorrow for the last few days so I should really sleep, but I just had to type this up and post it. I'm actually kind of nervous about this so pleeeaaaaasseeeee tell me what you think, good or bad._**

 ** _Order and Chaos- Qui Iudicant- That pun was glorious! I might have laughed for a bit after reading that. I am definitely one of those people that shamelessly makes puns and then is the only one who laughs so I appreciated that._**

 ** _Jayfeatheris Awesome- I'm very often too lazy to log in so I feel ya XD You have no idea how much I wanted to put dinosaurs in this. I have this T-rex mood necklace a friend got for me and I talk to it a lot when my cat isn't around. I seriously debated for a while about dinosaurs with my little dinosaur and eventually decided that I couldn't squish it into what I want to happen. Perhaps though, I will end up doing so because I change my mind constantly and might just take the whole thing in a different direction than I have currently planned._**

 ** _Thanks as always to my silent readers, and those that favorite and follow. You people give me life, even if you won't talk to me!_**


	9. Chapter 9

Scanning through a seemingly endless supply of corrupted files for only the tiniest scraps of usable data was something calming and familiar to Valora. But it sent Aiden whizzing around the room ranting about the various items he came across.

"Is this a stapler?" he asked without even stopping to scan the little metal object under the desk. He had just finished listing all the various uses of a tiny flowering plant he had found growing between the floor tiles. "How often do you think they used staplers in the Golden Age? Wasn't everything just electronic? Wait! It's not actually a stapler. It's a recording device of some kind."

Valora didn't look up from her computer. "Anything recoverable on it?"

Aiden was quiet for half a second. "No. It's too crushed to be of any use."

"Can you help me with this then?"

"That's so boooorrrrrriiiinnnnng. We should go see Ava. She's gone crazy, ya know? Why don't you ever do anything interesting like that?"

Finally glancing up at the Ghost, Valora watched him zip to the other side of the room and smack into the wall next to the door before turning back to her work with a smile. "Ava is very sick from walking through two Vex gates without a helmet. Not to mention she killed a Ghost and lied about it. I highly doubt her Ghost is as excited about these things as you seem to be."

Xander left the second he received word that Ava had been found. In the middle of a Control match. On Mercury. Without a helmet. Something only a complete idiot could pull off. Valora nearly admired her for it. Nearly. The girl was still a complete basket case.

"But," Aiden was floating toward Valora slowly and upside down, "at least she had some fun!"

"She could have died." Valora paused briefly in her research again to tap Aiden on one

of his spines when he drifted close enough, sending him into an overdramatic spiral. "She still might, actually. I don't envy her and the hell she puts herself through."

Aiden stopped spinning to perch on Valora's head. "Do you think Thing was telling you the truth about your past?"

"No."

"Thing showed Ava her-"

"I'm not so sure Thing was telling her the truth either."

"Why can't you just believe in something?" Aiden whined.

"Because it's not logical," she paused to squint at something on the screen before deciding it was nothing and moving on, "nor does it matter."

"I think you're scared."

Groaning Valora resisted the urge to drop her forehead to the desktop. She had been anticipating this topic. "We've been over this, Little One. Many times I believe."

"Loss made Ava reckless. Loss made you overly cautious."

"Aiden." Valora let her head fall into her hands, purposefully tossing Aiden from his perch. He thumped onto the desk before squirming through her arms to tap her nose.

"He loved you-"

"Aiden!"

"Valora!"

"If you're not going to help me then please, _please_ be quiet."

Aiden meandered away without another word.

"I'm sorry," Valora sighed feeling guilty about snapping at the Ghost, "but we've already talked this subject to death. Unless you have something to add there is no point in discussing Jordan… or MacGyver." The name tasted bitter leaving Valora's lips. She missed him and his stupid jokes and his random, last minute fixes. She even missed his stupid name, one he'd stolen from a very old show. He insisted that the name had been given to him by someone else, but she suspected that he had given it to himself to try and impress the ladies. Technically it had worked, at least it had with her.

"Maybe you just shouldn't judge someone else for how they cope with their own pain."

She ignored the small orange bot who was scanning the doorknob for a moment, pretending to be intent on her work as she tried to sort through what she was thinking in a rational way.

"Maybe it's time you deal with your own demons." Aiden suggested when Valora didn't respond.

"I already have. Plus, I am not comparable to Ava. She murdered her friend. I did not kill my team. It wasn't my fault they died."

"If you really believed that was true you wouldn't be so scared to do something fun."

After motioning for Aiden to come closer Valora took him in her hands and looked down at his bright little shell. He was actually a bit smaller than most Ghosts in physical size, but she supposed his personality made up for that. "I am not scared. I'm just careful. I know you miss the old days, but you have to move on too. Mac and J are gone and you're _my_ Ghost now. I'm incredibly thrilled that you are still so _you_ after losing as many Guardians as you have, and I know research and being one of Ikora's Hidden isn't your thing, but this is where we are now. Both of us."

Aiden stared up at her with his piercing eye for an uncharacteristically quiet moment before replying softly. "I just think you could be more fun with a new Fireteam. Maybe a Fireteam that understands how you feel."

Valora smiled beneath her helm and set Aiden down on the desk as she turned back to the computer. "I don't think this Fireteam is gonna work out, even if it isn't dissolved by the Vanguard. Ava's already made it pretty clear she doesn't want me around."

Aiden started orbiting around Valora's head, speaking loudly again. "She's crazy, though. You can't just take her at her word."

"It wasn't words; it was her literally trying to kill you."

"Yeah, I like her. She's fun. Besides, maybe you can help each other."

Valora scoffed. "I don't think anyone can help that girl. She's probably-" Valora broke off talking when she noticed an inconsistency in the code she was examining.

"Probably what?" Aiden asked, irritated that she had stopped midsentence, but she shushed him. She stared at the lines of text, mumbling under her breath before standing up and skirting around the desk to reach the hall. Aiden raced after her shouting "WHAT'SSSS GOOOIIIINNNG OOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!"

One of the Titans tried to stop Valora as she ran for the stairs, but she just slipped past him and kept moving. Tod poked his head out of one of the other offices on that floor and shrugged at his team as Aiden zipped past him screaming unintelligibly. He definitely wasn't going to argue with a Guardian operating under Ikora's direct orders.

Valora dashed through the building, dodging Vex and Fallen bodies alike on her way to the bridge that once reached across the valley. She caught the sides of the doorway to keep herself from falling from the ledge. Aiden slammed into her back before drifting up to her shoulder as she hung over the edge watching the Vex below.

"How many Hezen Protective?" She asked, a little out of breath.

"Approximately 2.3% of the Vex below are from the Hezen Protective."

"And the rest?"

"The other 97.7% are Hezen Corrective."

She nodded to let Aiden know she heard him, but she was too focused on the Vex below to respond. Ikora had told Valora the information found in the dead Ghost. It wasn't much, but it was enough to cause concern. Hezen Protective outside of their usual borders, watching something unidentifiable. Valora _had_ been sure that Thing was what the Protective had been investigating, but why was the _Protective_ involved? And why did they not attempt to root out the Guardians that they clearly knew were there. The Vex had engaged the Fallen. Why not the Guardians?

"Are you about to do something interesting?" Aiden asked Valora hopefully, once again perched on her head. She just continued to watch the Vex and didn't answer.

The Vex moved through the buildings in bizarre patterns, but patterns nonetheless. There was something down there. Had to be. Perhaps the Vex weren't here for Thing. Maybe it was something else they were after. The original orders were to observe the Vex, but Thing and Ava's craziness had caused a very effective distraction.

Too busy trying to figure out what it was she was missing Valora didn't notice the Hobgoblin fire its Linerifle until the Solar particle jets slammed into her torso. Aiden let out a startled, then horrified, shriek as she lost her grip on the door and fell.

Aiden fell with her, dropping first out of surprise, then purposefully to keep up with her descent. He had sent out a distress signal, but then forgot about it as soon as it happened in his attempt to heal Valora in midair. If she could control her fall before she hit the ground she would have a better chance of fending off the Vex.

He fumbled briefly with the Light in his panic before directing it toward her injuries. There was no healing her completely during the fall, but there was barely enough time for him to pull her back to consciousness.

"Floof!" Aiden yelled at her before dematerializing. "Floof to safety!"

Valora barely managed to convert her fall into a smooth glide before she slammed into the ground. She didn't even bother to roll her eyes at Aiden's use of the word 'floof' as she fumbled for Tlaloc before taking aim at the Hobgoblin that had taken the first shot at her. She managed to knock its head off purely out of spite before her feet touched the ground and she dodged behind a ramshackled building.

When Aiden finished healing Valora he jumped immediately to wild speculation. _We're probably gonna get eaten by whatever it is the Vex are hiding._

 _What makes you think whatever it is the Vex have going on down here has teeth?_

The first Goblin to march around the side of the building was met with a flash of Solar energy from Valora's palm. The Light burned pleasantly through her arm, bright as Aiden's laugh before he answered her question. _I dunno_. _I just think it'd be cool- Duck!_

Valora spun, dropping to a knee, and raising her scout rifle to the empty wall of the building across what was probably at one point a street.

 _Not that kind of duck. The animal-as-a-cartoon kind._

Groaning she turned back to look down the once-a-street. The buildings down here, looking mostly like some sort of lodgings on one side and labs on the other, were laid out in a rough grid. The lines of buildings were just barely too crooked to see much further than the closest intersections in either direction.

At Aiden's insistence Valora looked back at the wall and noticed a duck crudely drawn in charcoal on the rusting metal. _Why in the-_

She was distracted by a pulse of Void energy that nearly knocked her off her feet.

 _Duck! The avoid-flying-objects kind!_

The Ghost's warning was unnecessary; Valora had killed three Goblins with precision shots before Aiden was done yelling. She tossed a solar grenade behind her to slow the Vex coming around the other corner while she focused on the group in front of her. A sparking, headless Hobgoblin skidded into view and Valora smiled as she finished off the sorry scrap of metal that had brought her down here.

The moment of satisfaction only lasted for half a second. Another line of Goblins followed closely by a Minotaur came into view marching down the street in front of her. Aiden warned her that the Vex behind Valora were closing in also.

 _What's the fastest way out of this valley?_

 _It's really more of a canyon from down here, honestly._

 _Aiden! Focus!_

Pressing her back against the wall Valora started to pull at her Light, preparing to release the full power of a Sunsinger on this once-a-street with a cartoon duck staring her down. Aiden was ecstatic at the very idea of such a weird thing happening.

A streak of fire came hurtling down directly into the Minotaur. The sound of the hammer striking it's forge echoed through the canyon, the noise reaching Valora later than the sight.

With the Titan drawing most of the fire from above Valora was able to glide her way up to the roof of the low building across the once-a-street. The building with the duck.

Aiden cheered when Valora's Radiance danced to life around her. "Who wants some of this?!" She yelled tossing grenades and Light out into the nearest Vex patrols.

The Vex not under attack began to back away toward the other side of canyon where the buildings looked more like labs and offices than houses. No signs of any backup coming to the aid of the patrols. In fact, they seemed to be watching the Guardians, and Valora began to wonder if it was part of a precisely executed plan that brought her down here.

"Need a hand up?" The Sunbreaker Titan called to her. He stood on a ledge not far up from where Valora stood on the crumbling roof. As her Radiance faded she took a couple quick steps before letting her glide carry her up to the Titan. He laughed as he caught her hand and pulled her onto the ledge. "Nice work. Pretty cheeky catch phrase, though."

Valora stepped back from the Titan, straightening her robes and silently shushing Aiden when he began to tease. "Not really a catch phrase." she said with a shrug. The end of a rope dropped to the ledge, thrown down by the Warlock at the top.

"Oh really?" The Titan stepped toward Valora, closing the gap that she had put between them and blocking her from the rope. "I would really love to hear your catchphrase."

Aiden's teasing changed abruptly into a chant. _Do it! Do it!_ He cheered when the thought of shoving the Titan off the ledge crossed Valora's mind.

"Or," the Titan continued unaware of how close he was to a fall, "are you one of those uptight Warlocks? Can't have any fun, hmm? I think you need to loosen u-" He broke off talking when Valora kicked him in the shin. It wasn't hard enough to hurt him, but it did get his attention. He took a step back. "You little bitch!" he yelled, his tone instantly darkening. "I just saved your ass. You owe me a better attitude!"

Rolling her eyes Valora closed the gap herself this time.

 _ **DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!**_

The Titan seemed to relax, a little chuckle escaping his lips as Valora moved closer to him, but it quickly turned to a yell when she kneed him in the crotch and shoved him over the edge. "I don't owe you shit, jackass." she yelled after him before grabbing the rope Tod had thrown down and climbing back to the top.

Tod didn't say a word as Valora pulled herself up over the edge of the cliff. The Titan was already climbing up the cliff unharmed, except for probably his pride.

Aiden appeared over Valora's shoulder as she stalked back through the building, stopping at the bottom of the staircase they had been using. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! That's the Val I know! Kicking ass and taking names! Well, actually, we don't know that guys name, but whatever. It was cooooooooooooool."

Valora let the Ghost have his fun, smiling a little as he did backflips through the air, before calmly quieting him. "May I talk to Ikora, please?"

"Can we have a little party first?"

"Not this time, sorry. Perhaps when this is all over you can have a party."

" _We_ will have a party." Aiden said before happily contacting Ikora.

"Anything new, Valora?" Ikora said by way of greeting. She sounded distracted, but that was the usual.

"Possibly. I'll have Aiden send you the specifics. How's Ava doing?"

"Still unconscious, but her Ghost thinks she's recovering, albeit slowly. Cayde's team found her rifle in that cave by the way. Seems Thing was right about that much."

"Interesting."

"Yes. Do you need anything else?"

"I tossed one of the Titans off a cliff. He's fine, but if he stays I can't promise I won't do it again."

Ikora sighed, more resigned than annoyed. "Was it really necessary?"

"Yes."

"Very well. Keep your distance from the Titan, just relay orders through Tod."

"Alright."

Aiden busted up laughing, but Valora gave him credit for making it through the short conversation before losing control. The Ghost dropped to the ground and rolled back and forth while guffawing loudly until she finally asked him what was so funny.

"Ikora wasn't even surprised." He said through bursts of melodramatic giggling. "You just threw a Guardian off a cliff and she didn't even bat an eye. This entire mission has been so insane that nothing could phase the Vanguard anymore. Nothing. I swear they could discover that we're all just a bunch of bees in a trench coat and they'd just be like 'figures'."

Valora snorted before dissolving into a fit of laughter herself. "A trench coat full of bees?"

"Just a bunch of bees in a trench coat." Aiden confirmed.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 _ **Soooooo this was supposed to be much longer because I've actually had these events and some of the following planned for a while, but I seriously messed up my wrist and now my left hand is basically useless. Typing with one hand is both frustrating and exhausting so I had to chose between making the chapter long or updating at a reasonable(ish) time. Besides, "bees in a trench coat" seemed like a gloriously beautiful place to stop.**_

 _ **The Vex are being super shady, and Valora seems to be the only one who's noticed. We'll return to Ava soon, but for now Valora and my dear child Aiden are actually gonna get things done *gasp* (Yes the MacGyver thing was necessary)**_

 _ **Order and Chaos - Qui Iudaciant - Hehe yes I do so enjoy crazy Ava and the idea of those poor souls in the Crucible when she showed up makes me cackle like an evil witch (okay maybe not quite but it makes me laugh and maybe it shouldn't)**_

 _ **Jayfeather - DINOSAURS! Dinosaurs will instantly make me your best friend! I love them... YOU GOT TO STOP KILLING ME WITH YOUR WORDS ITS NOT FAIR I SWEAR IMMA FIGHT YOU**_ ** _(_** ** _ง_** ** _'̀-'́)_** ** _ง_** _ **(As for the rating change that was not intentional and it's back to what it was now)**_

 _ **jsm 1978 - thank you :) and yeah I generally end up disappointed a bit with what I write next, but this time I think I got it *knock on wood***_


	10. Chapter 10

It took a few minutes for Valora to stop laughing. It took even longer for Aiden to focus on anything other than the idea of a trench coat full of bees. Neither Tod or his Titan buddies said anything as she walked up the steps back toward Thing's room. They were still down in that room off the bridge, all three of them according to Aiden. She almost felt bad for shoving him off the ledge. It was completely unprofessional, but also, she had immensely enjoyed it. The ledge really wasn't that high anyway.

"He deserved it." Aiden insisted.

"You know, I never used to do things like that until I met you and Mac. All this talk about the past is messing with my usually impeccable decision making skills."

Aiden laughed evilly. "But you love it."

Valora just shrugged at him. He was floating backwards down the hall toward Thing's door, clearly still in a good mood.

"You have to hide." She told him and Aiden seemed to droop a little before doing as he was told.

 _Ask Thing about the duck._

 _I am not asking about some graffiti._ Valora nudged the door open and slipped into the room. This time she stood next to the door, her foot keeping it from closing entirely.

"You again?" Thing asked. It was still shrouded in darkness, floating around aimlessly. "I assumed you would be busy for quite a while sifting through all the information still stored in this building and the others."

Valora rolled her eyes. "You know very well all relevant information was deleted. What's left is meant as a distraction."

"I see I have underestimated you. I did not believe you were quite that intelligent."

Unsure whether or not she should be offended by that, Valora ignored it. Aiden, however, was most definitely offended.

"Hey!" Aiden appeared, eye glowing bright in irritation. Valora didn't even try to stop him. "That was very rude! You can't just go around insulting people because you're some creepy shadow wearing weirdo. And to think I was going to ask you about the duck."

"The duck?"

"Yeah." Aiden's tone was deadly serious. "The duck."

Thing laughed. It was almost a warm sound, very different from the creepy chuckling from before. "I like you, Tiny Light. Tell me about the duck."

"A duck walks into a bar-"

"Aiden, the other duck." Valora cut in.

"Oh, right, the duck on the building. Is there a reason there's a duck drawn on the side of that house-y thing down there?"

"Describe the duck, please."

"It was all cartoonish," Aiden began seemingly unperturbed by Thing's use of the word please, "wearing a hat, shifty smile… Oh! I took a picture!"

"When did you do that?" Valora asked as Aiden projected a picture of the side of the building onto one of the boarded up windows. Thing pulled some more light from the room to make the projection more visible, almost like It was showing off.

"I took it while you were shooting things. I also took one of the sky because it was kind of pretty."

Long since given up asking for legitimate reasoning from the Ghost, Valora just shrugged again and leaned against the wall. Apparently sense had no bearing here. Trench coat full of bees.

The room was quiet for a moment while the picture was examined in depth by Thing. Thing drifted back and forth in front of it, as if looking at it from more than one angle would change something. Valora wondered briefly if this was the first look at something new for Thing in an eternity. She nearly felt bad for Thing, but then she reminded herself that Thing was a creepy Golden Age experiment and balance was restored.

"I know nothing about this duck." Thing finally concluded. "It is signed, however, by one of the scientists who worked here with the little bird."

"Why do you call her a bird?" Aiden quickly forgot about the duck as he turned back to Thing, the projection fading.

"That is what her friend called her, correct? Little bird? It fits her. She is flighty and unfocused."

Aiden spread his shell slightly, puffing up to appear bigger in a sure sign that he was gonna start a fight. "Why are you such a cranky pants? You shouldn't say mean things like that about somebody, especially somebody you've driven insane."

"Cranky pants? I have not heard this particular expression. As far as your friend, I did not mean to offend. I only thought it was odd that she was a scientist. She did not seem as focused as the rest of them. Perhaps that is the reason her mind never broke completely."

With a low, purely for dramatic effect, growl Aiden made to launch himself toward Thing. Valora called him back silently before he could.

 _But-_

 _You did good. Please be quiet now._

Refusing to dematerialize, Aiden plopped himself on Valora's helmet while she took up the conversation. "What do you mean about her mind never breaking?"

"You have indicated that she has gone insane. You have not indicated that she has died. That leads me to believe that her mind has not completely shattered." The darkness around Thing was fading as It seemed to become more interested in the conversation. Valora could almost make out an outline before light flared and she closed her eyes against it. "She took a different approach to her work. Saw something different. She was compatable, if only she wasn't so small. Unable to hold all the information, but some of it. Just a tiny fraction." Thing was rambling to itself now, having completely forgotten Valora was still there. "I had to show her again. She had to remember the answer. She used to know the answer."

Valora opened her mouth, a million different questions trying to get out at once, but Thing disappeared. One second she was squinting against the light, and the next it was all gone.

"What does that mean?" Aiden asked as he rolled off her head onto her shoulder.

"I think it means we aren't done dealing with crazy yet." Aiden cheered, his voice echoing in the empty room, and Valora let loose a long breath. "I hate absolutely everything about this plan." she finally said, glancing around the empty room once more before leaving.

Aiden followed after Valora, elated by this news. "And you didn't even want to do this in the first place. We could be sitting in some dusty library bored out of our minds right now if I hadn't convinced you to come."

"Yeah, and that would have just been so horrible. Being _alone_ with _books!_ How would I survive without you?"

Either totally missing or purposefully ignoring the sarcasm practically dripping from Valora's tone, Aiden took her comment as a compliment. "You're welcome. I should be one of those life counselors. Tell people to cut out carbs and specific breeds of reptiles to have a happy love life or something." And just like that Aiden was babbling on about random topics.

She went out the front door without so much as acknowledging the other fireteam still talking in the back room and sat down in a shady spot just inside the tree line. If she was going to have to spend more time in the loony bin, she might as well find some inner peace first.

 **~o~**

 _Ava blinked the Old Russia field into focus. A lone figure was strutting closer through the snow. She knew who it was before they got close. She also knew this was a dream. Why she would see_ this _after the confusing fragments of Vex nonsense, Ava had no clue._

" _I never thought I'd see your sorry ass here again." Sorcha hissed through her teeth, coming to a stop ten paces away from where Ava stood. She was no longer wearing armor, or at least not what would qualify as armor in the Tower. Her blonde hair was matted and tangled, cut unevenly at her shoulders. She held a rusted knife in her left hand, angled toward Ava's heart despite the distance._

" _I didn't think I would be back either." Ava said, her voice wavering. She knew it wasn't real, but it still hurt to be here. Nothing had changed. There were still patches of brown peeking up through the snow. The few trees around them were bare, their branches stark against the grey sky. It was snowing slightly, just as it was that day._

" _This is real by the way," Sorcha sneered. "The conversation, at least. I can't really kill you though, which is a real bitch. Although, I think I might try anyway."_

 _When Sorcha smiled Ava took a step back, her feet crunching in the snow. She looked down and realized she was wearing the clothes she had passed out in in the Tower. Black sweatpants and tank top, no shoes. Drops of bright blood dotted the snow and as Ava stared at it confused another drop fell through her vision. Lifting a hand slowly to her nose she watched Sorcha's smile widen when she realized her nose was bleeding. Ava remembered that smile, but now it was so… malicious._

 _How was an old friend scarier than vague Vex apparitions?_

" _Why? Why are we here?"_

 _Sorcha tilted her head as if examining her prey. "I don't know."_

 _Ava took another step back. This couldn't be real._

" _You hold the bow now. How does it feel to touch the Void? To be one of the chosen few? How did you even do it?"_

 _Startled by the sudden change in conversation Ava took a moment to formulate an answer. It didn't even occur to her to ignore the question. "I wouldn't touch my blades. Not after I used them to kill Kindle. To essentially kill you. The Void was dark, and… comfortable. Like putting on an old pair of boots you forgot you owned. It made sense to me at the time, and after everything it was all I had left."_

" _You didn't kill me. You wouldn't be worthy of such a feat." Her voice always used to be a laugh, but now it was low and harsh._

 _Ava wiped blood from her nose, smearing it along the back of her hand and her arm before answering. "You're right. I didn't kill you. You were already long gone before I killed your Ghost. There was no Light left in that shell when I cleaved it in two, or at least not much. All I did was end your ruse."_

" _You're so blind. I was trying to help-"_

" _You were trying to destroy! How do you justify what you did?" Ava realized she was crying, her tears mingling with the blood on her face and dripping off her chin onto her arms that were crossed tightly against her chest. Dream or not she didn't want to be here._

" _How do you justify what you do?" Sorcha snarled, her pretty face so twisted with hate that Ava could barely recognize it._

" _Sorcha-"_

" _Don't call me that!" Sorcha took a menacing step forward and Ava stumbled back, trying to keep the distance between them._

 _Ava's head pounded. She was terrified by the shadow that used to be her best friend, and all she could think anymore was that this was her fault. She stopped trying to convince herself that this wasn't real because it didn't matter. It felt real. "That's your name, Sorcha."_

" _Not anymore it's not."_

" _So what then?" Ava threw her arms out wide, her hands were shaking with emotion that she couldn't control. She felt the Arc energy then, felt it curl through her fingers as her Light gave her back a blade she hadn't touched since she was last here. "What are you now? What has the Dark turned you into?" Because Ava knew she wasn't talking to her friend, just a monster that wore her face. She knew, so why did it hurt so damn much?_

" _Something better."_

" _You sound like Dregen Yor." Ava spat the name into the air with a snarl. "At least he released his Ghost. Yours tried to help you. I know he did. And you just let him burn himself out trying."_

 _Sorcha stepped toward Ava, and this time Ava didn't back down. "You're pathetic, Ava. Blindly following a broken god hiding behind its people. The Traveler abandoned the Eliksni, and it will abandon you the second it gets the chance."_

 _Letting her emotions settle into ice Ava lifted her blade in front of her face. Similar to her beloved sword, and yet so different when it was your own Light crackling across the blade. "I do what I do to protect people." She said lifting her head to look directly into Sorcha's once green eyes. "What's your excuse."_

 _Snarling Sorcha flicked back her left hand, her knife's blade glinting in the dim light as she prepared to throw, but Ava was faster. There was too much distance between them for her blade to be of any use, so she grabbed for her Light. Twisting it from the bright, crackling Arc energy to the deeper pull of the Void. Her bow replaced the blade and when she released the string the arrow flew true. Sorcha didn't even have time to scream as the arrow pierced her chest and she disappeared in a flash of purple, sucked into the Void._

 _Ava lowered her bow, but watched the field fade into darkness before she dropped it. The betrayal that had crossed Sorcha's face before Ava killed her. Again. Killed her again. It was the same look she had the first time._

 **~o~**

When Xander managed to finally open Ava's door, his arms full of various- completely random- food items, he found her awake, pacing back and forth through her tiny apartment. She didn't bother to look up at him, even after he kicked the door shut and loudly made his way over to the kitchen counter to deposit his load.

Leaning against the oven Xander tried to decide whether or not Ava was safe to approach. She was moving back and forth between the sofa and the sink, eating up the very little open space in the so called open floor plan with her long strides.

"How can you just stand there?" She asked suddenly before Xander could decide what to say.

Xander rolled his eyes. "You mock me all the time for not holding still."

"That is during missions. Missions where we're watching something or preparing to fight something. Where we're doing _something!_ This is- it's _nothing_!" Before he could answer Xander noticed a fork wedged into the far wall above the window. Ava followed his eyes without stopping. "I threw it."

"You threw a fork into the wall?" He wasn't exactly surprised, but it was impressive, especially considering she hardly ever used throwing knives.

"You took away my weapons." Her tone was almost accusing, hidden behind a layer of indifference.

"Because you tried to stab me."

That finally caused her to pause for a moment. She looked at him thoughtfully for a second before continuing her movement. "I don't remember that."

"Yeah, well, it happened."

She didn't stop moving again, but sensing his annoyance she asked "You mad at me?"

"Do you even know how much trouble you're in?"

"A lot, probably."

"No, you- Are you even paying attention?"

"Generally? No." She stopped pacing to lean against the back of the sofa facing Xander. With her no longer moving he finally noticed the blood smeared under her nose. Not a lot, but enough to make it clear that her nose had been bleeding, and that she hadn't tried very hard to get rid of it either. "Must have rolled into the wall." she said, noting his change of expression. Her expression, however, was one of nonchalance.

"What do you remember? After you ran off to waking up, what do you remember?"

Ava blinked once, slowly. A calculated gesture that showed Xander just how bored she really was. She was assessing him. Preparing for a fight. "Just to be clear. You are asking me what happened after you called me a spoiled brat, yes?"

"Yes." Xander answered evenly. She wanted a fight, and he was not going to rise to the bait.

"I wandered through a cave, found a messed up Vex gate, walked through said Vex gate and ended up near Vertigo but nowhere near this particular time with a horrible headache. Then I hallucinated some, which was just great by the way, and threw up for like four hours."

"And after that?"

"You came in. I remember the Vanguard, and something definitely not the Vanguard. Then my head exploding and a lot of hallucinations, or dreams, that I can't think about without liquefying my brain. And one dream that I wish I didn't remember because it is absolutely _not_ relevant to anything. It just serves to piss me off and you refuse to fight me!"

Xander pushed off from the counter and took a step toward Ava, watching warily as she shifted her posture slightly. "I am not going to fight you."

Her shoulders remained tense, but she laughed a little and examined her nails. "Fine. I guess I'll have to find something else to fight."

"You can't leave."

She looked up, challenge clear in her eyes as she tilted her head. "I _can't_? I feel fine."

"First of all," holding up one finger Xander began to list, "you look like you're about to fall apart. Second, that is not the reason and you know it. You're a flight risk."

Ava laughed again, dropping her hands to her side. "Oh please, if I wanted to run all I had to do was not come back the first time." The way she said it without a hint of emotion indicated that she had considered this option carefully many times before. She had still come back, too. Why?

"I suggest," Xander started slowly, he wasn't going to fall into that deep well of questions, "that you do not tell the Vanguard that."

Ava watched him silently for another moment with bright calculation, but then her eyes shuttered and her shoulders fell. "Whatever." She turned toward her bedroom door. "I'm going to bed."

Following her into the dark, messy room Xander tried to continue the conversation. "You just got up."

"Yeah, well, there's nothing else to do." She slammed the door in his face, leaving Xander standing in the immaculate, yet dusty living space. Ava was hardly ever here so everywhere but her room was kept clean out of disuse. Her room, however was a disaster area that only got worse with her every visit. He heard her let out a frustrated shriek quickly followed by a thud.

As Xander sat down on the stiff couch before the tv he wondered which wall she had put a hole in this time, and why she had bothered to leash her temper in the first place.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _Hello! My computer is being really stupid so this took_** **forever** ** _but it's here now so *shrug* School has started again and because I now have a reason to know what day of the week it is hopefully things will be a little more... scheduled, I guess. That's not quite the word I want but I'm too tired to find it at the moment. You guys know what I mean. Hopefully me computer will be fixed soon and then I won't be disappearing for so long. OH MY GOSH GUYS I JUST NOTICED A WOLF SPIDER THE SIZE OF MY PALM ON MY WALL ITS LOOKING AT ME I MIGHT DIE HERE HELP! oh wait my cat killed it before he could raise an army... I'm sorry. I'm tired._**

 ** _jsm1978 : I have found any use of the word "floof" in my case usually leads to the phrase "disrespectful hunter" and me being left behind to die (although that might just be my brothers) so I advise you proceed with caution O.o_**

 ** _Jayfeatteris Awesome : Aiden is my child. My fave. He is everything right in this world. He is what I live for._**


	11. Chapter 11

The hole Ava had kicked into the wall mocked her as she stared at the small strip of light under her door. She had _tried_ , for once, to keep her emotions in check considering how poorly things had gone with the Vanguard. Whatever that had been she didn't want it happening again. Despite that, she still yearned to pick a fight to relieve some of her restless energy.

Through the wall she could hear Xander watching something, probably Crucible matches. He tended to take them very seriously and she was surprised when she couldn't hear him yelling at the screen. Perhaps he was trying to keep quiet out of consideration for her.

She wished he would stop. Ava wanted him to be angry. Not dissapointed. Not tired. Not understanding. Angry. She wanted him to stop trying to protect her feelings and just be honest.

It was more than just wanting a fight to relieve some of her restlessness. There was a piece missing from the puzzle that had been dumped into Ava's head. She wasn't done sorting through what she had been given yet, but she knew something wasn't right. Thinking about it was only going to drive her crazy.

 _Crazy? You've been crazy for a long time._

That voice. Sorcha's voice. Ava resisted the urge to reach for a knife that wasn't there. Xander had opened up a door that had been closed for a very long time and now there was no way to shut it. Sorcha was in her head, and as much as Ava knew it wasn't real, it _felt_ real. Just like that damn dream.

With a groan Ava rolled off her bed, pulling one of her many cloaks with her, and started pacing through the mess on her floor. Her legs were wobbly as she weaved through the various items.

"You need to eat something." Greer muttered as she drifted off Ava's headboard and started scanning her.

"Not hungry."

Greer only sighed, not bothering to warn Ava as she tripped over a piece of chest armor and fell flat on her face. Xander heard her hit the floor from the other room. "Are you okay?" He called through the door.

Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Ava kicked at the offending piece of armour before assuring Xander that she was fine.

"No she is not!" Greer swerved backwards when Ava swatted at her, hissing under her breathe for her Ghost to be quiet. "You need to make her eat something."

The door swung open and Ava blinked her blurry vision clear in the sudden light. "I told you, Greer, I'm not hungry. I'm not going to eat anything."

Greer drifted out of the room. "Well, I'm not reviving you when you die of hunger."

Xander kicked random objects out of his way before stopping in front of Ava and staring down at her. "Come on." He held out a hand which Ava reluctantly grabbed and let him pull her to her feet. When she swayed he held onto her arm until her vision cleared and she nudged him away from her.

"I really don't want to eat." she mumbled, but she stumbled to the kitchen anyway. The pile of junk food that Xander had brought in earlier was still taking up most of the cramped counter space, utterly undisturbed. "You haven't eaten anything either."

" _I_ didn't spend most of the day hallucinating or throwing up. Eat something."

Sticking out her tongue Ava pulled a box of donuts out of the bottom of the pile. A bag of chips slid to the floor, but she ignored it. She doubted she'd be able to pick it up without falling over, anyway. Both Greer and Xander watched her carefully as she crossed to the couch. She pretended she didn't notice that either.

"Why is this so uncomfortable?" She asked after flopping onto the couch.

Xander sat on the floor as she had purposefully stretched her legs across the other cushion. "Have you literally never sat on your own sofa?"

Ava shrugged and flipped open the lid of the box of donuts. "It's kinda new. Had to get rid of the old one because I lost a dead mouse in it."

He tensed, scrutinizing the surrounding floor. "You have mice?"

"Nope. I just _had_ a _mouse_. His name was Glen."

Greer glanced at the flabbergasted Titan. "Don't ask."

Grinning, Ava took a small bite of a powder sugar coated donut. Some of the strawberry jelly dribbled down her chin and she wiped it off with the back of her hand without thinking. "Found him in my hood once. He was pretty sweet and didn't make much of a mess so I let him stay."

"You let a mouse run around the Tower?"

Small talk. Meaningless. Ava could cut the tension in the room with a knife, if she had been allowed one of her knives, anyway. She hated being unarmed.

 _Kill him._

Ava flinched at the suggestion that came from inside her head, but wasn't entirely hers. Red flashed through her vision. Blood. _Blood_.

 **~0~**

"You let a mouse run around the Tower?" Ava laughed lightly at Xander's incredulous tone. He was actually a little surprised. She wasn't necessarily the nurturing type. Her laugh broke off suddenly, and she went still behind him. "Ava?" Xander straightened, looking over his shoulder at her.

She had gone rigid, her eyes unfocused and staring at the back of her hand where jelly from the donut she had been eating was smeared. The donut in question had been dropped back into the open box on her lap, forgotten.

Xander looked to Greer, who had been lounging in the cushions comfortably a moment before. Greer looked back at him, nearly frantic. "I don't know." She said before Xander could even ask.

Ava turned to her Ghost when she spoke, but it wasn't her gaze that met Greer's. "Little shiny thing?" she asked voice sweet and calm. "I miss you, Little Light."

Greer stared at her Guardian, utterly shocked. She didn't move as Ava reached forward and picked her up gently. Xander did, however. He grabbed her elbow and pulled her hand away from Greer. The Ghost dropped back onto the cushions, still paralyzed with complete confusion.

Turning to Xander, now kneeling on the floor in front of the sofa, Ava slid her legs off the cushion and sat up straighter. She tilted her head slightly, regarding him with feral contemplation for a moment before her eyes slid back to the motionless Greer. Xander grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to look at him.

There was a reason she had been brought back to her own apartment after her… breakdown earlier. It had been decided that she needed something familiar and calm. Disorientation and panic seemed to be the trigger of whatever, exactly, had happened. But Xander knew this apartment was not something familiar and safe to her. It probably would have been just as bad for her to wake up in the infirmary as it was for her to wake up here.

"Hey," he started calmly, hoping he would be enough of something familiar to calm her down, "Little Finch, I'm right here. Look at me."

She watched him for a nerve wracked moment, seeming to struggle for a second before her eyes cleared. "I'm so sorry." she whispered, a terrified gaze meeting his. She wiped the back of her hand off on her sweatpants without looking at it and leaned back into the cushions.

 _Miles._

 _Yes?_

 _What just happened._

Miles appeared over Xander's shoulder and moved toward Ava cautiously. She watched him approach warily, her posture guarded and unsure. Xander knew she wasn't worried for her own safety, but for the Ghost's. Miles scanned her, then Greer, before moving back to hover over Xander's shoulder. _I'm not sure what to make of it. She seems fine now, but there's an inconsistency in- in everything, actually._

 _Elaborate._

 _She's seeing things, Xander, and whatever it is, it's influenced by something… not entirely her. We need to tell the-_

 _Not yet. We don't tell anybody she's awake yet._

Ava loosed a shaky breath and interrupted the silent conversation as she pushed the box of donuts off her lap onto the now empty cushion beside her. "Why are the dead walking?" She asked softly. Xander tensed again, but it was her own voice, quiet and contemplative, that said it. "Why?" She sat up again and looked at Xander like he had the answer to whatever question it was she was trying to ask.

"Why what?"

"Why is that the question?" She fell back into the cushions and closed her eyes. "Who is asking?"

Shrugging, Xander slowly sat down on the sofa next to Ava. "Don't ask me. All this crazy is in your head."

She hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "Why _my_ head, though?"

Miles fielded that one. "All your bad decisions are finally catching up to you."

Ava laughed wryly, eyes still closed. "Sounds about right. If this is karma, then I'm really in for it this time, yeah?"

"We." Xander corrected. "We're up this creek together."

"I hope you brought your paddle because I left mine back on land with all my marbles and the rest of this deck of cards."

"Nope. All I got is this monkey playing cymbals."

She was quiet long enough that he wondered if she had fallen asleep, but she mumbled. "We make quite a team, don't we?" And _then_ she was asleep.

 _I told you not to get attached to her._ Miles scanned her again before turning back to Xander. _But you had to go and make friends._

Xander picked up the deep green cloak Ava dropped on the floor and set it over her lap. _You've never complained before._

 _I never complain._

Picking up the box of donuts, Xander glared at his Ghost. _You're complaining now._

 _Not complaining. Just saying. You were supposed to fix her team's insubordination and be done with them in a matter of months. Those were the orders. That was the plan. Now we're here._

 _There is more to life than blindly following orders._

 _Like disorder, chaos, and a mound of paperwork? Because that's what you've ended up with since you started acting like a Hunter._

Xander turned his back on his Ghost and walked across the room to set the box of donuts down next to the rest of the food. _This is not the time for this conversation._

Miles hovered over Ava, his attention still on her even as he spoke. _You're right. The time was when she killed Sorcha's Ghost and you lied for her._

 _We talked about it then._ Xander reminded him, walking back toward the screen still playing Crucible live feed on mute. _You told me it wasn't a recommended course of action. I told you to shut up. End of discussion._

 _This is not a recommended course of action._ Miles repeated his routine advice.

 _Noted._ Xander snapped as he settled down on the floor once more, his back to Miles.

Mumbling in her sleep, Ava pulled her legs up onto the sofa and curled up around her cloak. Greer was still sitting on the back of the sofa. She seemed to be deep in thought, or something. Xander would ask her later what was up with Ava. So far the Ghost hadn't been much help. She had been nearly as distant as Ava since arriving back at the Tower. Whatever it was that was going on, it seemed to be affecting both of them.

"I'm not abandoning her." He spoke out loud, sure neither Ava nor Greer could hear or were paying attention to him, but they were words he needed to say.

Miles opted to continue silently. _I know, and that's nearly honorable. You'll have to update the Vanguard eventually._

 _Not now. Not yet. Let's wait until she can explain herself._

 _And if she never does? Or can?_

 _We burn that bridge when we get to it._

 _Sounds like a bad idea._

 _If you'll remember I was, in fact, taught by the queen of bad ideas. This is nothing._ Xander turned up the volume of the Crucible match just in time to hear Shaxx congratulate someone on a ten kill streak.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 _ **Hello I am not dead, just a very easily distracted jelly bean. yes, that is the scientific term, my friends. I'M SORRY BUT I GOT DISTRACTED WITH ROI IT IS BEAUTIFUL IT GAVE ME LIFE ;AKDS;A AFNKLDJ JAOGITBHN *cries over all the new lore* This is short and not a lot really happens I suppose, but next chapter a whole lot of stuff is put together and then we get back to the shooting and the explosions**_

 _ **Hopefully this all uploads correctly**_ _ **because I'm tired and if it doesn't it won't be fixed until tomorrow. My point is: I'm sorry for any mistakes you quick-to-read people might find I'll fix it Monday evening hopefully.**_

 _ **Order and Chaos - Qui Iudicant : You'll notice here that the pov changes from Ava to Xander when she starts to lose it again because she is fairly unreliable at this point. Sorcha is indeed not dead, and that's all I'm saying about that ;) Thing seems to like Aiden. Which makes total sense as Aiden is wonderful and all much love him. Time traveling shenanigans will begin to be revealed starting next chapter so stay tuned for that**_

 _ **jsm1978: *squints eyes at the word "interesting"* thank you...**_

 _ **This Is Sarcasm: ROI IS GLORIOUS IT GAVE ME LIFE IVE HARDLY SLEPT IN WEEKS AAAAAAAAAAAASDFJKAL;DFJF**_

 _ **Jayfeattheris Awesome: trench coat full of bees is my favorite line I use it all the time now. It needs to be a thing. I legit want to hear people mumbling under their breaths about a trench coat full of bees whenever something bizarre, but not unexpected, happens.**_


	12. Chapter 12

"Are we sure about this?" Valora asked for the seventh time as the Tower came into view.

"Absolutely!" Aiden was sitting on her head again, though without her helmet in the way he was nestled in her hair. "Thing said the information we need is in Ava's head and the only way I can see to get that is by talking to her."

Valora nodded. "Yes, but maybe we should run it past the Vanguard first."

"We talked about that," Aiden reminded her smugly, "and we decided that it would be best to skip that step."

"That's a pretty slippery slope, Aiden. I don't think I'm comfortable keeping something like that a secret."

"Don't think of it as a secret. Just think of it as a delayed truth."

Valora sighed. "Pretty sure that's still a lie, bud."

"Of course it is. Just don't _think_ of it as a lie. Anyway, you've said it yourself: we need to know what she knows and this might be the only way to do it. We talk to her, _then_ go to the Vanguard. Delayed truth."

"Aiden-"

"You heard what Thing said. She's on the edge of complete lunacy, or death, and we don't have a lot of time."

"They think she'll recover fine. We have plenty of time."

"They _think_. She might not. Besides, even if she makes a full recovery whatever information she has could be time sensitive."

Valora was quiet for a moment, wondering what exactly 'time sensitive' might mean to a timeless Vex entity. According to Ava's Ghost, she had walked through time herself. Could something really be time sensitive if time was meaningless? "Alright," curiosity finally won over Valora's waring mind over, "we go talk to crazy. But-¨ she had to raise her voice to talk over Aiden's cheer. ¨-But then _immediately_ to the Vanguard."

"Heh, you said butt butt." The guilt that settled on Valora's shoulders did not seem to bother the hyperactive Ghost. "I want icecream. Do you think we could stop for icecream? Maybe just some frozen yogurt? Oh! Cotton candy!"

"Aiden," Valora sighed, "you can't even eat the icecream. What are you talking about?"

"I just like the way it looks!" He was buzzing around her head and shoulders in the cramped space, doing flips and other aerial tricks.

"Maybe later."

"You promise?"

She smiled. "I promise."

 **~o~**

Xander hadn't been expecting Valora, but it appeared that Ava had. Or, at the very least, she didn't show any surprise when Valora opened the door and walked in with all the confidence of somebody who lived there.

Aiden was the first to break the awkward, stunned silence. "We need to talk to Ava because all the information was deleted and then I took a picture of the sky and then Thing looked at the duck and then said Ava knows the answer and we need the answer and we didn't tell the Vanguard because we need to talk to you quickly before you go more crazy or die or something and also Valora said we could get ice cream later!"

Completely confused, Xander looked to Valora who merely shrugged at the Ghost's rushed explanation. "Yeah. That about sums it all up."

Ava sat up from where she had been sleeping fitfully, pulling her cloak back up over her shoulders. Her breath hitched as her eyes landed on Aiden. Xander subtly shifted between them, effectively blocking Ava's view of the bright orange Ghost. She gave him a small, grateful nod before turning her attention to Valora. "I haven't figured any of it out yet." Her voice was dull and she was having difficulty keeping her eyes open.

"That's why I'm here." She shared a look with Aiden, the only gesture conveying her uncertainty. "I'm fairly sure I know how to help you do that."

 _This is a bad idea._ Miles reminded Xander as if he didn't already know. _Valora and Aiden shouldn't be anywhere near Ava, especially considering the state she's in. And absolutely none of this should be going on without the Vanguard's permission, or knowledge. I cannot just stand by and watch this unfold._

Xander examined Ava for a silent moment. She seemed sane enough at this moment in time. _I know. I know. But I think she's right. This might be our best option._

 _That is not for you to decide. I must tell the Vanguard._

 _Five minutes. All I ask is for you to stay quiet for five minutes._

 _And if Ava loses it again and goes after Aiden?_

 _Then I'll stop her._

 _Because that worked out so well the first time._

Not willing to justify that response with an answer Xander simply nodded to Valora. She stepped further into the room, but stopped in the middle of the kitchen keeping a comfortable distance between herself and Ava. "We don't have a lot of time," Valora started, "so tell me the important parts."

"It's all got something to do with the Vex." Ava said softly, the words seeming to drag out of her as she leaned her head against the sofa cushions and closed her eyes. "And It- Thing is involved, has been since the… beginning, I guess. Whatever research they- we- did before the Collapse on the Vex in the Ishtar Sink is connected. I'm not so sure Thing is our enemy anymore."

Despite himself Xander let out a small gasp of surprise causing Ava's eyes to open again and focus on him lazily.

"I don't know. It… Thing almost seems to be helping us, and what I can remember…" she trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I think Thing was trying to help before. I think I had something figured out, but then I- I died."

"What, though?" Valora asked. She had inched forward slightly while Ava was talking. "What did you figure out?"

"I don't remember. When I was brought back I didn't remember anything. Now some of it is coming back, but it's too much at once and there's other stuff in there too that doesn't belong."

"Sorcha." Xander hadn't meant to say it out loud, but it came out anyway.

Ava flinched away from the name, wrapping her cloak closer around her. "That's irrelevant." she whispered.

Aiden moved closer to Valora, either out of his own discomfort or Valora's. "Are you sure?" Ava glanced up at her for a half second before looking away again. "Sure that it's irrelevant, I mean."

"Yes." The brief flash of razor sharp focus and ire in Ava's eyes was enough to make Valora glance back at Aiden. The momentary surge of emotion seemed to cost Ava and she slumped against the cushions again. "Speaking of all that, tell me your story."

"Excuse me?"

 _Not good._ Miles muttered. Xander found himself agreeing with his Ghost. Ava already seemed to be getting under Valora's skin. He moved back to lean against the back of the sofa, still keeping himself between the two.

"What happened to your original Ghost?" She clarified, not even lifting her head at the harshness in Valora's tone. "And your old team? You know my story. I want to know yours." Her voice was weighed down heavily with exhaustion, but the command in it was clear.

"No."

"Then I guess we'll never know what's in my head."

Valora looked at Xander. "There is no way she's really this petty."

"Yes." Xander looked down at Ava, exasperated. There was the slight curve of a smug smile to her lips. "Yes she is."

"Information for information. A fair deal, no?" She was teasing now, making sure Valora knew that she held all the power in this conversation.

Aiden spoke up then, drowning out whatever protest Valora was about to make, in an attempt to smooth things over. "Sounds fair to me. Just a quick story, then some vital information, and nobody has to get into a fight or do anything we might regret later once we've all calmed down."

Ava chuckled quietly to herself, but didn't say anything. Xander assumed she had thought of a sarcastic remark and was too tired to say it. Too tired to say it because there was no way she would ever voluntarily keep something to herself.

Valora seemed to wrap up a silent argument with Aiden. "Fine." She took a step back to lean against the counter. "My first Ghost died with J and Mac. It was just the three of us on what was a simple strike… Until it wasn't." Aiden drooped before setting himself down on the counter by Valora's hand. She absently patted his shell.

There was no indication of judgement in Ava's tone when she spoke again. "Why not retire? You mentioned that the first time we met, living away from all the chaos after losing your Ghost. But you did lose your Ghost, and you're still here."

"Couldn't leave Aiden all alone."

"Is that really it?"

"Essentially." Valora answered shortly, and then after a brief hesitation, "I wouldn't expect someone who killed their supposed friend's Ghost to understand what it's like to lose someone."

Greer was the first to speak up in Ava's defense. She drifted up from the cushions and hovered over her Guardian. "That was uncalled for."

Ava, surprisingly, called Greer back without even opening her eyes. "I guess we now know what buttons to push to crack your goody-goody attitude."

"Hows about we don't do any button pushing." Aiden suggested.

Ava hummed thoughtfully before agreeing. "What do you want to know, Valora?"

"Everything."

She laughed. "No you don't. I'm going to need something more specific to go off of."

"Okay." Valora pushed the pile of junk food to the back of the counter and lifted herself up to perch on the edge. "Thing mentioned that you used to know the answer. What was it?"

"I'm not sure yet." She started drumming her fingers on the cushions, the first sign of her agitation. "I know that people were in some sort of imminent danger, and I argued with Thing about how to help them. Right now it's too jumbled up. I can't- I don't know."

"Try harder."

Ava opened her eyes to glare at Valora. "How about we switch places? You try to sort through memory and hallucinations with a massive headache and I'll just sit there and throw out such _helpful_ suggestions."

"Let's all stay calm." Aiden interjected. "Perhaps we should take a break and look at this picture of a kitten and a puppy snuggling I took on the way up here."

Shaking her head at the Ghost, Valora took a breath before continuing. "What was the question, then?"

"Why are the dead walking. That was the question." Ava sighed, struggling to keep her eyes open and focused on the empty wall next to Valora's head. "And I think It was talking about us."

"Us?"

"Guardians."

Xander was starting to feel irrelevant as the two women continued talking without acknowledging him, but that was something akin to a relief. At least they weren't fighting.

"How were Guardians involved before the Collapse?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say time travel."

Valora straightened. "Are you saying Guardians traveled back to the Golden Age?"

"No. I'm saying _It_ can travel through time. _It_ met up with some Guardians. _It_ applied that information to whatever was going on at the time."

"How?"

"I'm not sure, but knowing what happens in the future is definitely an advantage. Unless of course you don't know the _beginning_ of the story. Then it's just confusing."

"Clarify"

"We've picked up the middle book in the series and started reading. We can't figure out the end until we know the beginning."

"And _you_ know the beginning?"

Ava laughed bitterly before shaking her head. "Somewhere I almost do."

"You're starting to sound a lot like Thing." Valora snapped. Aiden tapped the side of Valora's head with one of his spines and she looked at him, rolled her eyes, then smiled tightly back at Ava.

"It wanted me to understand madness." she said instead of directly addressing what Valora had said. "I think I do now."

Valora groaned and Aiden nudged her again. "Trench coat full of bees, remember?"

Ava sat up straight at that and look straight at the Ghost. It was the most lively Xander had seen her since they first got to Venus. "Is that a Warlock thing?"

"No it's-"

"Okay, so," Aiden interrupted Valora excitedly, "we were on Venus and Valora fell and then she shot some stuff but then the Sunbreaker was a real jerk so she shoved him off a cliff-"

"You did what?" Ava laughed before covering her grin with her hands. She leaned over the back of the sofa and met Valora's eyes. "You shoved somebody off a cliff and then you call _me_ crazy?!" As soon as she said it she seemed to realize that she had impulsively opened herself up to condemnation from Valora. Nothing changed except her eyes, but Xander knew her well enough to recognize that look. Wary assessment and a switch to the defensive.

But Valora didn't say anything admonishing. Instead she laughed as well. "He really was a jerk. Literally just wasted some Vex and he was trying to flirt with me."

Ava's grin grew and the calculating look in her eyes fell away. "Sunbreaker, yeah? I know that guy! I swear he's hit on every single girl in the Tower. Probably the guys, too, now that I'm thinking about it."

"He ever hit on you?"

"Yes. I threw a rock at his head."

"You do that a lot, apparently."

"I cannot believe that you _shoved him off a cli-_ " She stopped laughing suddenly and her eyes widened with a sudden realization. Valora slid off the counter and backed a step toward the door, but Ava appeared to have forgotten about her entirely. "We have to go back."

"To Venus?" Xander asked. Miles was urging him to tell Valora to leave and contact the Vanguard. He ignored him. This was different. Ava's gaze hadn't gone blank and still this time. Instead she was entirely focused on his face, not shying away from direct eye contact.

"No. Where we found the Ghost."

"Why?"

"Because it's all connected!" She dropped her face into his hands when Xander only stared at her in confusion. "You can't see it, but I can see it now!"

"See what?"

She looked up at him again and clasped her hands together in her lap so tight it wouldn't have surprised him if she broke some of her fingers. "What the Vex were doing there! Xander, we were on Earth! Nobody is paying attention to that because of everything else that's going on. What if the information the Ghost had is totally useless? What if it's all about where we _found_ it? What were the Vex doing _there_? It can't be a coincidence. We have to go back!"

"No way. You can't leave the-"

"Xander, trust me."

He made the mistake of looking directly into her puppy-dog eyes and for a split second he almost bought into the complete conviction he found there. "No."

Ava stilled. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and slammed one of her fists against the cushion before opening her eyes again. "Okay." she said quietly, standing up slowly.

Xander reached out to help her but she shoved him away. "Ava-"

"No, look, I-" She moved past him toward her room, her gaze not leaving the ground. "I get it so- Just- It's... okay." She gave him a small, understanding smile as she shut her door softly.

"Wow."

Xander looked back toward Valora and her Ghost and shrugged before sitting back down on the seat that Ava had just vacated. Valora took the dismissal and left silently.

 _I am going to tell the Vanguard now._ Miles informed him.

 _Okay._ Xander's agreement was as reluctant as Ava's had been, but he knew he had been toeing a dangerous line and he wasn't willing to step any further over it.

 **~o~**

Aiden stayed quiet until they were a decent distance from Ava's door. "Are we going to tell the Vanguard now?"

Valora shook her head. "Not yet. I need more information first."

"Then where are we going?"

"The archives."

"Why?"

"Because- oh gosh this hurts to say- I think I agree with her."

Giggling, Aiden nudged the side of her head before settling on her shoulders. "Trench coat full of bees?"

"Just so many bees" Valora sighed

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 _ **First, I would like to apologize for my long absence I've been really busy and I wrote the beginning half of this and then just died for some reason *shrug* Second, I CANNOT BELIEVE the amount of reviews I got! I was not expecting that many so I was pleasantly surprised. Also, HELLO YOU NEW PEOPLE HOW ARE YOU I'M SO GLAD YOU ARE HERE! by the way I noticed something was messed up with the 4th chapter so if when you read it the 4th and 5th chapters were the same go back and read 4 because it's important and you're probably very confused without it**_

 ** _Ava has figured something very important out and I bet you guys know exactly what stupid thing she's about to do next ;) Valora isn't far behind her on the epiphany, but for different reasons, and Xander is currently trying to keep both himself and Ava from getting into more trouble. I feel a bit bad for him really. Ava is truly the "bad influence" your parents always warned you about in school..._**

 ** _Order and Chaos: Yes I have decided that Xander is indeed human. Xander was a good little soldier until he met Ava and Sorcha and his Ghost is generally disappointed in everything Ava's dragged him into since..._**

 ** _As for the lore I love it! All of it. It's vague and beautiful and I'm constantly talking my brother's ear off about random theories because I am apparently incapable of shutting up about it and he's the only one that will listen to me anymore. I will unravel and speculate for hhhoooouuuurrrrsssss about the lore, but ask me about the metaphors in Moby Dick during english class and I will literally have no clue because I don't care at all. My priorities may be a bit skewed, but eh_**

 ** _Jayfeatther: Skorri's is my fave I'm pretty sure I literally cried I was laughing so hard. Variks, Kell of Waffles shall have all the blueberry that he pleases I have literally no problem with this I love everything about it I must make waffles now_**

 ** _FusRoDerp: Generally anything I ever do starts out confusing so :/ sorry! glad it got better though_**

 ** _B.A.: thank you for your review! I loved every bit of it! Oh goodness, Ava, my sweet child, she's really dug a hole for herself this time and I'm afraid she still has the shovel and her ridiculous impulsivity so her not making things worse may be some sort of miracle at this point. Do not fear you shall learn much much more about both Thing and Sorcha in the next chapter, or perhaps the one after next depending on how things go and I'm actually really excited about that so ! AIDEN IS MY CHILD AND I LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART_**

 ** _This Is Sarcasm: AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! WHY ARE WE YELLING! ITS OKAY I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO PLAY A LOT OF DESTINY LATELY SO I PLAYED ALL WEEKEND INSTEAD OF FINISHING THIS LIKE I WAS GONNA SO I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND! THE ONION! tRENCH COAT FULL OF BEEEEEEEEEEEEEES! I HATE SNIPERS SO MUCH BUT IM SO GOOD AT IT SO IM CONFLICTED *takes a deep breath* that was exhausting_**

 ** _sakura001: I guess technically this was a review for ch 4 but I'm responding here because this is my fic and I make the rules. I love Ava so much. She is my child and she needs a hug. But, yes, she really is a bitch. And that's what kills her so much about what Xander said to her. She knows that he's telling the truth, even if he does feel bad about it because it hurt her feelings, he was telling the truth. She also knows he generally avoids telling her the truth because she acts out like she does. There is a bit more information coming soon about why exactly she snaps when she does and why she goes after Aiden that makes what she did a little more understandable, but really she does need to chill..._**

 ** _Bumblebbee: aw shucks thanks for your sweet review :) You shall learn more about Sorcha soon and her relationship with Ava, though it was purely platonic_**


	13. Chapter 13

The door clicked closed softly. Ava didn't turn on the light to keep Xander from getting suspicious, but she also didn't flip the lock because she knew it wouldn't do much good if he did become suspicious. Of course, he probably already knew what she was thinking.

"Are you really going to do this alone?" Greer asked, flitting around the room as Ava picked through the stray pieces of armor on her floor despite the dark.

She picked up the chest piece she had tripped over earlier and examined it for a moment before tossing it on her bed and continuing her hunt. "Yes."

"He'll know where you went."

"Hopefully I'll be far enough ahead of him that it won't matter." She ran her fingers over a deep gash across the back of an old helmet, decided it was unusable and dropped it back on the floor. "I doubt he'll be expecting me to just take off when I 'look like I'm about to fall apart'."

"What are you planning on doing about that, anyway?"

"I'm not sure yet." She picked up a worn pair of boots, deemed them worthy and tossed them onto her bed also. "You can pilot the ship for me so I'll have a bit more time to figure it out."

"Holliday can track your ship."

"Which is why we're taking Xander's."

Greer followed Ava across the room to the closet, watching as she picked up a different helmet and tossed it over her shoulder at the bed. "Because she _can't_ track _his_ , or what?"

Ava pulled a pair of black leggings and a tight fitting, long sleeved shirt from a basket on the floor and changed. "No. Because he won't even think that would be a possibility. He'll think I'm in the City or something because my ship is still here and I hate his. It'll be a while until he realizes his ship is even gone, and by then I'll already have a head start. Besides, they know where I'm goin anyway so I'm not really hiding."

Despite the fact that Ava threw her sweatpants at her, Greer continued to push. "What's to say he won't just try to head you off?"

"He won't want to believe I actually tried to go alone." Ava glanced back toward the door and the little bit of light shining under it. "Same reason he isn't in the room right now. Something like denial, I guess." She laughed quietly, shaking her arms out before she turned back to her bed and started pulling on the old armor.

"Or trust." Greer offered.

Ava rolled her eyes. "Trust makes you stupid. I trusted Sorcha. We know how that ended."

"So you're just going to break his trust?"

"Better than him being dead. He was right, anyway; this is my fight and I've got to grow up sometime."

"And you think you know him well enough to know you'll have a good enough lead on him?"

"I do. The problem with this will be Valora. I know she's going to do some deeper research into what I said. I know eventually she's going to figure out something that's going to point her in the same direction. I just don't know how long it will take her, or what she's going to do with that information once she has it."

"Is that why you don't like her?"

"That's why I don't like anyone, Greer. I don't like not knowing things. The only reason I can stand Xander is because I can predict with a high degree of accuracy what he'll do."

"So that's it? Only because you can manipulate him? Nothing else?"

Ava shrugged at her Ghost, then readjusted the armor around her shoulders. "You act like I don't care about him at all. I do. You know I do, but that doesn't mean I have to put my life in his hands."

She shrugged again, then rolled her shoulders and stretched. It took her a moment to work the stiffness out of the torn gauntlets she was wearing. After that was done she spent a few minutes carefully going through the clutter on the floor and pulling various knives out of seemingly nowhere before tucking them into her armor. She didn't have any hidden guns, and the random ones she had laying around Xander had already taken so knives would have to do. Maybe she could snag something on her way to the Hanger.

"He still out there watching Crucible matches?" She asked after she was satisfied with the amount of weapons strapped to her body.

"Yes."

"Window it is then." Grabbing a random cloak from her collection Ava dramatically threw it over her shoulders before easing the window open.

The climb wasn't particularly difficult, but with her lingering headache and dizziness it wasn't ideal either. She squirmed through a half open window one floor up and found herself in the well kept bedroom of an apartment nearly identical to her own.

Waiting next to the window, Ava listened for a moment without moving. When she didn't hear anything she hurried through the rooms and out into the main hall. There weren't any other Guardians around, and she was, for once, wearing a helmet. It probably wouldn't have mattered anyway, but it did make her feel slightly better that there was nobody around to watch her stumble toward the elevator. Eventually she would have to deal with other people, but the longer she could go without that the better.

"You're just going to walk into the Hanger?" Greer asked as the elevator doors shut, enclosing them both in the tight, too warm space.

"Got a better plan? You're just about the only recognizable part of me in this armor so I think I'll be fine."

"And if someone, say Holliday, sees you?"

"We resort to plan G."

"Which is?"

Ava made a 'duh' face under her helmet. "Make it up as we go along."

"Isn't that every plan?"

"Yes, but G is specific to being caught by Holliday."

"Why not H? Nope. Nevermind. Whatever." Greer disappeared in a huff, leaving Ava to lean against the elevator wall in silence.

A few Guardians got into the elevator before it reached her floor, but they didn't bother to talk to Ava and she didn't care to talk to them either. She walked into the Hanger without incident. If anybody noticed her occasionally swaying on her feet they didn't think much of it.

She paused before the Dead Orbit faction rep and grinned when the answer to her gun problem hit her. She had the faction reputation, and he still had the kind of rifle she was accustomed to, if perhaps with a few small modifications. She had it in her hand and was testing the weight and balance by the time walked up to her escape vehicle.

Xander's ship was huge and bulky. It annoyed Ava, whose ship was smaller, sleeker, and faster, but she supposed beggars couldn't be choosers. The interior was dark and warm and she was already half asleep by the time she sat down in the pilot's seat. Greer went through the preparations silently and soon enough they were over the Last City; just another Guardian taking off for some adventure or another. After all, the Ticktock Inquisitor wasn't even close to the most noticeable ship around.

"I'm gonna sleep." Ava mumbled to her Ghost as she took of her helmet.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Greer asked, most of her focus on the ship.

"I'm pretty sure I don't have a choice anyway." She said through a yawn, leaning back and sinking into the chair. "Wake me up when we get there."

 **~o~**

 _The taste of blood in her filled her mouth and the loud crack of a handcanon firing behind her rang through Ava's ears just before she felt the bullet graze her shoulder on its way to hitting its mark. She didn't have time to even breathe a word of thanks to Xander before the next Vandal was knocking her from her feet, swords slashing for her throat. She hit the hard packed snow and lost her grip on her rifle. A knife was in her hand by reflex and then she was shoving the Vandal's body off of her and stumbling to her feet._

 _Too many Fallen. Way too many for only two of them._

 _Xander summoned a Ward, using it to protect what was left of the torn group of refugees trying to make it to the Last City. Ava's own Light was drained beyond use. The fact that they had made it this far with as many as they had was nearly a miracle in itself._

 _She could hear Xander's labored breathing through the comms as he grit out through his teeth, "Where's Sorcha?"_

 _She didn't answer; she didn't know. Sorcha had been here right before it all went to hell, but then she disappeared again. And Ava found herself trying to cover for her again. And taking more than her share of hits for her again._

 _Ava slammed her knife into the throat of another Vandal, burying it to the hilt before ripping it out and turning to the next one._

 _A mother wailed in despair as her child was yanked from her arms before she could make it under the protection of Xander's Ward. A knife flipping from Ava's fingers was fast enough to save the woman from death, but not from the sight of the infant being ripped apart in front of her. Ava reached out to grab the woman and pull her toward the flickering Ward, but surprisingly the woman was faster. She scooped up a discarded shock blade and laid into the group of Fallen before her._

 _Ava's first instinct was to help her, but she recognized the opportunity. The woman was giving them a chance. So instead, though it killed her, Ava turned back to Xander and the huddled group of people. "Run."_

" _What?" Xander asked faintly, his Ward failing._

" _Run!"_

 _The civilians started moving first, the children lifted up into shaking arms or tugged along the path toward the building. It was an ancient building, but it was solid, defensible, and the best option they had to if they wanted to wait for help. Ava had found it while scouting earlier and she had decided that it wouldn't be too hard to get to from the decimated town. However, that had been when there had been three of them instead of two and they weren't as easily surrounded._

 _They were in a dense part of the forest here which eliminated the threat of snipers. It also lowered visibility. If another crew of Fallen were to come out of the trees and cut them off from the building, trapping them between the stealth Vandals that were starting to get their bearings in the face of that poor woman's wrath they would be completely screwed._

 _Trying not to think about that too deeply Ava grabbed the stumbling Xander, pulled his arm over her shoulders and started running toward the building. They just had to make it inside._

 _The first man to make it to the door blasted through it with a shotgun and looked to Ava for confirmation. She nodded and he rushed in ahead of the others to make sure it was clear. Behind her the Vandals screeched out their victory over the woman. Ava sped up, pushing Xander through the door before turning to slam it closed behind her. The lock was broken, but she shoved a wooden chest in front of it and piled a few rotting chairs on top of that for good measure._

" _What's the backup team's ETA?" She went to reload her rifle and realized she had left it behind. It didn't matter though; she was out of ammo anyway._

 _Xander was busy looking over the more serious injuries among the people they had thus far managed to protect. "They should be here by now."_

"' _Should be' doesn't help us any." Ava snapped back as the Fallen outside slammed into the door._

" _Where's Sorcha?" Xander asked again as he finished binding a small girl's arm._

 _The door rattled again and Ava pulled out the knives she had left. "The answer to that isn't going to help us either." No, Ava had her suspicions about where Sorcha was, but sharing them would only make the situation worse. She also didn't want to be right about it either._

 _The door jerked open a bit and a shock blade flashed through the opening before claws appeared. Ava slashed at them, her knives slicing through the Fallen stupid enough to try to get in. "All persons without a Ghost please go downstairs into the basement at this time." She said sweetly before darting forward to grab the dropped shock blade. There was a shuffling of feet on the rickety stairs as she stabbed the shock blade back through the opening to the other side before pulling it back and shoving the door closed once more._

 _Xander was still standing behind her, his handcanon up and ready in case the Fallen were to breach the door. Ava looked him over, thoughtfully biting her lip as the door shuddered again._

" _The Fallen will be looking for other ways in by now." As she spoke the sound of shattering glass came from a room down the hall. Ava regarded the shock blade in her hand, then grinned. "You got the door?" She asked, already moving into the narrow hall._

" _This might not be the smartest of ideas."_

 _Ava laughed outright, a cold sort of battle calm settling over her now that she was sure the refugees were safe below them. "Perhaps, but it's the fun idea."_

 _She heard Xander grunt an agreement before she was on the Fallen. Without her Light her movements weren't as quick and fluid, but they were still deadly. She picked up another shock blade from the first Vandal that she killed and wielded the twin blades with deadly precision. It wasn't the same, but she could get used to it anyway._

 _At some point the sound of Xander's gun firing and three ships landing registered, but Ava didn't stop until she ran out of things to fight._

 _Standing in the middle of what used to be a kitchen in this building that was probably once a house, she dropped the blades and stepped over the Fallen bodies. She had run out of Vandals and had ripped into whatever reinforcements had come without really noticing. The impressive carnage caused a brief pang of pity and regret as Sorcha's voice rang in her ears over Ava's wildly beating heart. "The Eliksni deserve better."_

" _So does everybody else." Ava hissed bitterly to the memory before turning to leave._

 _A Hunter standing just inside the door to the backyard caught Ava's eye. Whoever it was seemed frozen in shock or awe, his weapon dangling forgotten from his hand. She rolled her eyes before tossing a throwing knife, one of Sorcha's, at him. It thudded into the wall next to his head. "Snap out of it." she commanded as he jumped to attention._

 _Xander had already called the all clear to the people below and they were creeping out of the basement when Ava walked into the main hallway. The adults were shaking, even those of them that carried weapons and had been protecting the small community out in the wild for who knew how long. The children were crying._

 _Two kids stopped in front of Ava, looking up at her like they weren't sure whether or not they should be afraid. Kneeling in front of them, Ava pulled off her helmet and smiled reassuringly at them. Upon seeing her face they threw their arms around her neck and, laughing, Ava patted their backs. "You're okay now, little ones." she said softly, elated and devastated all at once. She wasn't even sure these kids had parents anymore. She remembered that they did when she first met them earlier that morning._

 _Ava watched silently as the people were herded onto a ship headed directly for the Last City. She didn't speak until it had taken off, then she turned away and started walking into the trees. "I'll meet you back at the Tower." she said to Xander._

" _Where are you going?"_

" _Don't worry about it."_

 _He started to follow her, but his Ghost appeared over his shoulder and they seemed to have a silent, heated discussion._

" _You sure about this?" Greer asked, hovering at Ava's side as she usually did._

" _Ask that woman who sacrificed her life after watching her child die in front of her." The words came out hard and angry, taking up more energy than Ava really had to spare. She sighed heavily and continued softer. "This has to stop, Greer. I need to know why."_

 **~o~**

Jerking awake suddenly Ava startled Greer who was hovering over the controls nervously as if expecting them to randomly explode. "Bad dream?" she asked dryly.

Confused Ava stared at her Ghost wild eyed for a moment before wiping the tears she had shed in her sleep off her cheeks. "Something important, but I don't remember." She started slowly. "Everything was how it really happened until the end. Then something happened that didn't actually happen. I can't-" She cut herself off with an annoyed sigh and shook her head. There was no use trying to force the pieces together.

"Well, anyway, we're here."

Looking out the window Ava could see the general area they had initially found the Ghost in far below them. "This is certainly going to be interesting, don't you think?"

Greer only blipped glumly as she set the ship down and Ava replaced her helmet. Perhaps this time she would actually try to keep it on.

"How far are we from where we found the Ghost?" Ava asked as she stepped out of the ship. Her feet crunched on pinecones and long dead leaves.

"Not far, but not very close either."

Though she understood what her Ghost said perfectly, and would have given the same answer herself, Ava rolled her eyes and pulled a small knife before twirling it through her fingers nervously.

"You might be wrong, you know." Greer reminded her.

She flipped the knife into a nearby tree trunk and let the resulting thud be her response. Ripping it out of the bark as she passed Ava started twirling it again. The trees here were sparse, mostly coniferous, and separated by crumbling buildings and broken up streets. This was clearly at one point a small town on the line between forest and prairie.

A small rodent like creature skittered out from under a rotting board and dashed madly toward a collection of little mounds just outside the treeline. Ava noticed more of the small creatures sitting up on the mounds or milling about in the whispy grass surrounding them. The running one was almost there when a shrill call came from one of the others and all of them disappeared down their holes. All of them but the unlucky creature still dashing for cover. A large bird streaked down from above, caught the smaller animal in its talons and carried it off. After a long moment of silence little heads popped up from below the earth and the creatures continued with their business like nothing had happened.

Ava looked at her Ghost. "He gone. He dead."

"Heartless." Greer retorted.

Shrugging at the judgemental comment Ava flipped her knife out of her fingers again, but this time at a fast moving black blob on the ground that had caught the corner of her eye. After tapping it with her foot hesitantly Ava picked it up with the knife still embedded in its abdomen to examine. "Oh my." She raised her eyebrows, rotating the impaled thing. "That is a spider, Greer. A spider. A spider that is as big as my head."

The spider's legs twitched and its pinchers opened and closed menacingly in Ava's direction. She shrieked and dropped the spider, knife and all as she jumped back.

"It''s not dead! There is a knife through its body and it's not dead!"

"Step on it." Greer suggested.

"Are you kidding? It's bigger than my foot! And there's a _knife in it!_ A. Knife." She backed away from it quickly as the spider attempted to reorient itself.

"Well get the knife back then."

"Nope." Ava shook her head wildly still backing up "No. Not gonna happen. The spider can keep my knife."

"What if it knows how to use it?"

Throwing her hands up into the air Ava turned to her Ghost. "It's a spider it doesn't know how to use it." She turned back to the spider to see it pulling the knife out of itself with some weird, claw like appendages on the end of its frontmost legs. "Oh. My. Gosh! That spider knows how to use a knife! Why? How? What _is_ this?"

The spider started scuttling forward holding the knife before itself awkwardly.

Greer dodged behind Ava's shoulder. "Shoot it."

Yelling gibberish Ava grabbed for her rifle and fired an entire clip into the spider's face.

"Do you think it's dead now?" Greer asked slowly.

Ava reached down and pulled her knife out of the gooey mess that had once been a monster spider. "I'm not sure. I feel like if anything could survive that it would be this giant ass spider. We should go before it wakes up or regenerates or gets bigger or whatever else it does happens."

"Agreed."

"We totally just lost the element of surprise." Ava reloaded her rifle as she walked. "I told you we should have just taken the ship all the way there."

"Eh, hindsight is 20-20."

"Never look back, darling. It distracts from the now."

"Besides we wouldn't want Xander's ship to be destroyed… or something."

"Or something." Ava agreed quietly. The tense amusement that had been building since she landed died suddenly at the reminder.

"You could be wrong." Greer said again.

Ava kicked at a rock. It rolled forward a few feet, shaking off the dirt and leaves it was caked in to reveal it wasn't a rock, but a Ghost. Holding it up for Greer to scan she noticed the patterns burned into the faded red shell. "I doubt that very much."

"Should I transmat that back to the ship?"

Shaking her head Ava set the Ghost back on the ground gently. "No. Save your energy. Stay out of sight." She brushed leaves and dirt out of the way to reveal more Ghosts that had been hastily buried at the base of sickly looking tree. "They won't be out here much longer. I'm sure Valora will find them. She seems like the type to look under every rock."

"You still don't like her. The way you reacted when she walked in the room I thought you were going to do something stupid again."

"Greer, I gave you an order."

"Or is it her Ghost that sets you off?"

"Greer! I am not losing you over this conversation. Out of sight. Now. There will _not_ be another Ghost on my conscious."

Greer dematerialized, but didn't drop the argument. _Hm. Just your conscious, huh?_

"Yep. This is all just about me and my conscious." Ava muttered coldly. Greer dropped the argument then. She knew that wasn't what it was about at all, but it was clear that Ava wasn't going to admit it to herself. "We don't have a lot of time. Let's get this over with before our party gets crashed."

 _You sure about this?_

"Me? Sure about something? Never."

 **~o~**

The first thing Vaora did with the Ghost Ava and Xander had found was have Aiden scan it. He did so happily, then got very, very excited.

"Look at this. Look at the burn patterns." Valora looked, but apparently not hard enough because Aiden only got louder. "Look at them! This wasn't the Fallen! This wasn't even the Vex! I don't know what this is, but it's so cooooooollllll!"

Valora picked the Ghost up gently and examined it as Aiden bobbed up and down across from her in a way that was very much like an excited hopping. He was right; she didn't recognize the marks that were left on the shell. It was a very specific and complicated pattern of criss crossing lines. "Compare it to-"

"Already on it! Comparing the patterns to literally anything else that's ever been documented."

"Especially-"

"-other Ghosts!" Aiden set himself down on the desktop and dimmed slightly as he searched. It was the quietest Valora had ever seen him. It didn't last very long. Soon he was up again rattling off the information passionately.

"There's more of them, Valora! A handful of little Ghostses with the same kind of patterns. It doesn't seem like anybody has looked into it either. It's all Ghosts that didn't have Guardians with them at the time, too. This one lost their Guardian somewhere not too far from where they found it."

"What do the Ghost's logs say?"

Aiden made a throat clearing sound effect and began to recite. "Maria fell to the Vex that shouldn't have been here. I could not get to her. Not without putting myself and the information she entrusted to me at great risk. I have the feeling that I'm being watched, and by something that knows me. Something hungry. I'm not sure what to do. Maria told me to return to the Tower, but that is a long way away. Perhaps I will be able to hide here until I am found by a Guardian. Perhaps whatever is watching me will find me first."

"Is that it?"

"That's the most recent that isn't corrupted. Recorded just a few hours before Ava and Xander found it actually."

Valora tapped her fingers against the desk for a moment as she thought in silence. "What information did the Ghost have on the Vex? What was so important about it?"

Aiden hummed his little 'thinking tune' before answering. "Something about the Black Garden, but I think the Vanguard was already working on that anyway. Unexplainable increase of Vex activity on Venus. The Protective moving further from the Vault, toward where Thing is. Maria was monitoring that, gathering intel to bring back to the Tower."

"Then what led her to back to Earth?"

"I'm not sure. It isn't clear. She was following something, probably Vex. They usually don't come that close to the City. She thought it was odd, but I'm not sure what specifically tipped her off. Then there's records of the Vex movement around where the Ghost was found. Same things that Xander and Ava ran into. If we want more details than the Ghost recorded, then we'll have to go back there."

Groaning, Valora leaned back in her chair and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. "I hate when that bitch is right about something."

"You don't have to be _that_ mean to her."

"Aiden, she tried to _kill_ you." Valora leaned across the table and stared down at Aiden. Seeing Ava again and listening to her bring up the past in some asinine way to assert control only reminded Valora how much she couldn't stand the Hunter.

Aiden drifted up to level with her eyeline. "I don't think she meant to, and she has her scars same as you." At this point he was starting to sound like a broken record, but the fact that Aiden had managed to stay focus on one thing for this long spoke for itself.

"I don't care what her reasons were. There is no excuse for the way she acts."

"You're starting to like her. I know you are. You could have said something mean earlier, but you didn't because you saw how much she was trying."

Valora considered that. She had decided against saying something about Sorcha back to Ava when she mentioned throwing the Titan off the cliff. She only hadn't because of the brief flicker of fear in Ava's eyes when she realized she had misstepped and given Valora the perfect opportunity. Valora had also found herself enjoying the brief, light hearted conversation they had had before Ava realized whatever it was she realized. "Maybe you're right. _Maybe._ But I still think she's dangerous, to other people and herself. She's probably already left, too."

"So, are we going to catch up to her?" Aiden asked hopefully.

"I don't know. We go to the Vanguard first though. No more sneaking. If they say no then we won't do it."

"But Valora they might say no and we _have_ to go after her! Plus, I happen to be very good at being sneaky-sneaks."

"No, Aiden, there's a line and I'm not going to cross it. She made her choices and I'm sure she has her reasons, but I'm making a different one and you know why. Come on," Valora stood up and dramatically waved Aiden toward the door, "we'll get ice cream on the way."

"YYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

 **~ASDFGHJKL~**

 ** _I know I've been gone for a while... again. I'm not very good at existing sooo... Anyway, hopefully this being longer than my other ones makes up for it. If I was a reliable person they would all be this long, but I'm not so *shrug* Next chapter will have explosions and will probably be at least this long and waaaaaaaaayyy more interesting._**

 ** _Order and Chaos : yes I have thought about it but I'm also lazy so..._**

 ** _Daydreamer : AIDEN IS MY FAVE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH AAAAAAAAA yes this is the beginning of 'squishy Valora' shes really a total sweetheart you'll see more of that in the next chapter. I'm sorry I took so long updating that I drove you to randomly reviewing other chapters (which I loved btw) Ava's reason for disliking Aiden so much will be revealed for sure next chapter along with many many thing to do with Sorcha_**

 ** _Jayfeatteris Awesome : THAT PUN WAS BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT SO MUCH IT WAS GLORIOUS I love Aiden, and I love Padfoot so much too the two of them would totally rule the world together I swear *shakily gives a giant box of waffles to Variks* sorry its a bit late_**

 ** _theshyplum : I know the time frame is confused and tbh I'm not even quite sure on it myself so I apologise I'm a very disorganized person if you couldn't tell and I wasn't expecting this many people to be interested in my little fic so I didn't put too much thought into it in the beginning... Yes indeed they each balance each other out and someone needs to keep Xander from acting like a Hunter it really doesn't suit him. Info about Sorcha and the Ghost's mysterious patterns will be next chapter for sure as will be some more Vanguard arguing shenanigans so hopefully you won't be dissapointed_**

 ** _Sakurasback : goodness gracious no her being understandable does not mean she deserves forgiveness, it just means she becomes understandable_**

 ** _Igglytots : Thank you for reading and your wonderful reviews! Of course I take no offense for your opinion on Ava. I love her because really she is my child, but I know she is not a likable character. We will look more into Valora and Xander's pasts in the next chapter and the royalty thing may come up later on._**


	14. Chapter 14

Another Guardian shot Valora a confused look when she let Aiden answer the question of what ice cream she wanted and she glared back at anybody that dared to scoff at him. He flew back and forth in front of the glass and shouted out flavours excitedly, as well as detailed directions on how to scoop and where to place those scoops in relation to the others.

When Valora finally left with a wide rimmed bowl made of chocolate dipped, rainbow sprinkle covered, waffle cone filled with various shades of ice cream the scooper slumped in relief. Aiden fawned over his treat excitedly while she walked. He made her stop a few times when there was lighting that he liked so he could take pictures from every angle imaginable.

"Wait to eat it until it gets all melty." Aiden reminded her. "I like when the colors run together a little." Aiden loved sugary treats. Valora was sure it came from Mac's addiction to them. While the eccentric Warlock had loved the taste of anything sweet and bad for him, Aiden loved how those things looked. Aiden loved how everything looked. Aiden just loved _everything_.

"I remember." Valora grinned briefly before schooling her features into a professional look.

The Vanguard didn't seem surprised when she walked in holding a bowl of artfully arranged, utterly untouched ice cream. Ikora Rey smiled gently at the excited Ghost whose attention was focused solely on his treat. Zavala grumbled slightly, but it was good natured enough. Cayde shook his head a little and chuckled. He had always had a soft spot for Aiden, claimed the Ghost would have made an amazing Hunter.

"I think I have to go back to where Ava and Xander found the Ghost that started this." Valora jumped right into business. "I think something might be there targetting the Ghosts, and I'm sure now that Ava believes it's connected to the Vex activity there."

"What exactly lead you to this conclusion?" Ikora asked, all business herself.

"Ava said something about going back when I was speaking to her earlier. I looked into the Ghost's logs and found something a little strange, and Aiden looked at the records and found a correlation. All Ghosts with the same patterns. The oldest found scattered around the Cosmodrome, newer ones moving further out to where the newest was found in that building. The same building the Vex showed up in."

Nobody said anything about Valora talking to Ava after being given clear orders to stay away from her, but she knew they had all picked up on that and would not be forgetting it. "We have no reports of Vex activity in the Cosmodrome." Zavala said. "How are the Vex related to the Ghosts if they could not have come into contact with the older ones?"

"Indirectly." Valora stated simply. She had a more thorough hypothesis, but it was mostly guesswork at this point. Too likely it was wrong to bother bringing it up at this moment. "I think whatever has been killing the Ghosts started here," she pointed to the place on Cayde's map outlining the Old Russia before moving her hand to the other side of the Earth, "and moved in that direction, eventually meeting up with the Vex. _Now_ the two things are connected."

"And you believe all of this because of what a delusional Hunter said?" Zavala spoke gruffly and frankly. Cayde turned to him sharply to say something, but Valora interrupted before he could.

"I think what she's seeing isn't completely fabricated. There's some truth in there, and she isn't stupid. She's got something figured out in that head of hers. Honestly, she's probably already gone."

It was Zavala's turn to look sharply at Cayde. Cayde shrugged at the unspoken question, but at Ikora's glare answered. "It is possible. It does seem like something a Hunter would do, but _if_ she has left then it's on your Titan who is supposed to be watching her."

As if on cue Xander came strolling in, his face completely emotionless. Miles came zooming in before him in a rage. "She's gone."

Valora motioned to the pair with a meaningful look at Ikora.

"We spent half an hour searching through the Tower before he realized she had stolen _his_ ship." Miles continued his angry tirade. Xander still looked like a statue.

"We know exactly where she went." Valora reminded the Vanguard quietly. Xander nodded sternly in agreement.

"It does seem like our best option." Cayde referred to the implied idea that only Valora and Xander go after her.

"Our best option is to send two exceptional Guardians into an unknown danger to chase after a crazed Hunter?" Zavala asked, clearly unconvinced.

"We know more than anybody else what we're going to run into there." Valora countered. "Xander can handle Ava. I can handle whatever is going after Ghosts. It's the smartest decision."

"Valora, she did try to kill your Ghost. I'm not sure you want to be in a similar position." Ikora reminded her thoughtfully.

Aiden looked up from the ice cream when he was mentioned. "She didn't mean to. And I'll stay out of the way this time."

Valora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Aiden stay out of the way? Doubtful, but she went with it. "I think the slight risk that she'll snap at Aiden is worth saving both her Ghost and whatever other Ghosts might come under the fire of this mystery enemy out there. Besides, if you send someone else it is more likely for her to lose it again. At the very least she would never hurt Xander, and I'm not a stranger to her anymore." The brief conversation about throwing people off a cliff had to count for something.

"They do make a decent team." Cayde offered, leaning over the table. "I think Ava is finishing this mission whether we want her to or not." He added when nobody else spoke. "The least we can do is minimize the casualties here."

Xander's stoic expression faltered slightly, but he clenched his teeth and remained quiet.

"Casualties?" Ikora asked for him.

"I doubt this is a job for one person, especially one person in her condition. If we leave her out there alone we'll lose a Ghost and a damn good Hunter. You can't deny that she does her job well-" Cayde paused slightly but continued steadily "- no matter what came to light about Sorcha's death." He met Ikora's eyes, then Zavala's before stepping back from the table. He had made his argument and would leave it up to the others for a decision.

Zavala looked at Xander intensely. Xander didn't so much as blink under the scrutiny of his commander. "You knew she was going to leave and you didn't stop her." he accused.

"I figured she had considered it, but I did not think she would make it far when she can barely keep her eyes open. I didn't expect her to take off this quickly, or this organized. I checked with Holiday about Ava's ship and it was still here. I assumed she would be here as well. I was wrong."

"You had absolutely no idea that she was going to leave like this?"

"Absolutely none."

Zavala looked away from Xander to glare briefly at Cayde before focusing on Ikora. "It does seem like the most efficient way to deal with this problem."

Ikora nodded her agreement. "Very well. You two will go after her."

Cayde tossed his hands up in triumph before wandering out of the Hall. Valora heard him mumbling under his breath as he passed her. She caught the words "delusional Hunter" and "shove it up Zavala's big blue-" before he was out of earshot.

"Don't forget the ice cream!" Aiden shouted as Valora and Xander made to step away from the table. Valora grabbed it.

"Report back regularly." Zavala reminded. "We don't need this escalating into something big. We barely survived the last thing."

They stopped on the Watch for Aiden to take pictures of the now melting ice cream in the grass. When he was finished and declared himself completely done with the ice cream Valora handed the bowl to Xander. "Like ice cream?" She asked lightly in an attempt to get him to make any other facial expression other than the stern grimace.

He shook his head but took the treat from her anyway. "I'm not in the mood right now."

Valora looked to Aiden for help as they walked toward the Hanger. She wasn't entirely sure how to handle this situation. It had been a while since she had to deal with somebody else's feelings.

"You know, she's probably really sorry for taking off." Aiden offered. Xander merely nodded tersely. "You expected her to leave despite everything, didn't you?"

He nodded again. "I know she's scared and thinks she's doing the right thing. I just thought we were past this."

"Past what exactly?" The question was a bit of a pry, but Valora was genuinely curious about how their relationship worked.

"Past her not trusting me with what she's thinking. Whatever she figured out must have been bad and I had hoped she would come to me before doing something stupid, but I guess not."

"She doesn't seem to like variables." Valora said softly, thinking about her actions when they first met. Ava didn't like being out of control. Anything new, especially a person that reminded her of someone who took that control away so completely, would be enough to shove her over the edge. An edge on which she clearly lived these days.

Xander shrugged. "You two would have liked each other had you met much earlier."

They stopped outside Valora's ship."You got everything you need?" She asked. When Xander nodded she motioned to her ship. "I guess you need a ride." She said a little awkwardly. "Unless you want to take Ava's and even things out."

Xander shook his head, laughing slightly. "I would crash that tiny thing so fast and then I'm fairly sure Ava would kill me for it."

"Alrighty then. You can sit in the back and not touch anything."

"And if I do touch something?"

"I'll shove you off a cliff."

Laughing a bit hesitantly Xander climbed into the ship. He had to move some scientific looking equipment out of the way first, but he found a place to sit on a small cot built into the wall. There wasn't a lot of room in the back of Valora's ship, especially for a Titan, but it wasn't exactly uncomfortable. Valora took her seat at the controls and Aiden sat on her head, facing behind her to stare at Xander.

"Are you going to eat that?" He asked seriously.

Looking back down at the bowl of ice cream still in his hand Xander shrugged. "I suppose." He looked back up at the expectant Ghost. "Are you going to watch me like that the whole time?"

"I have to make sure you're enjoying it enough."

Valora scoffed. "Aiden, leave him alone."

Aiden nearly turned to face front, but Xander took a dramatic bite of ice cream and Aiden turned back. "Valora! He's teasing me!"

"You probably deserve it, bud." she said, laughing, as she steered the ship out of the hanger.

Xander kept direct eye contact as he mimed gagging.

Aiden huffed and nestled deeper into Valora's hair. "Titans are such bullies."

Valora laughed again and tossed her head, dislodging Aiden. "Then go beat him up."

He free fell to her lap, bouncing obnoxiously off her shoulder as he went. "Why can't you beat him up?"

"Because I'm flying the ship."

"I can fly the ship."

"After what happened last time? No thank you."

"Fine. I'll beat him up by myself." Aiden flew over and smacked into Xander's face. Xander didn't even flinch, and to complete the insult he lifted another spoonful of ice cream to his lips.

Aiden backed up and tried smacking him in the face again, but Xander dodged the hit casually and continued eating. "How exactly did you end up with this little fireball? I can't believe his first Guardian was much different from him. Doesn't seem like your type."

Valora looked over her shoulder briefly and Aiden drifted back toward her, though he didn't take his attention off Xander.

"Okay, I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."

Valora sighed, but shook her head. "How did you end up with _your_ fireball."

"Ava? Guess I never really considered her fire persay. She always seemed more like ice to me, at least recently. Cold, harsh, and liable to crack at any given moment."

"Is that your way of avoiding the question?"

"I suppose it is." Xander took another bite of ice cream.

"Fine." Valora shrugged nonchalantly, her pale eyes still on the sky before her. "I guess we don't owe each other anything."

"You know. I was assigned to her team."

"But why did you stick around? That's what I want to know. You told me you did it because she would have done the same for you. I assume that means she _did_ do something for you before. Something to win your loyalty."

"I was assigned to her team on account of their insubordination. Her and Sorcha's. Sorcha hated me. I think they both did at first. The two of them never liked being told what to do, but Ava warmed up to me after a while. She saved my life a couple times, and she defended me against Sorcha more than once. I was holding pretty tightly to rules and regulation then as a way to cope. Like you said, we've all lost people. A whole raid team, actually. They're still… around. Some of them, anyway, but we don't talk anymore. Things ended badly. I think Ava taught me how to live like a person instead of a soldier. After everything went down I figured she deserved the same kindness that she had shown me in the beginning."

It was a rushed explanation, but Valora didn't feel like pushing that specific topic anymore. Afterall, Xander had been fairly understanding about her not wanting to talk about painful memories. "And you trust her?" She asked instead. "After everything she did?"

"I did, yeah." Xander took a few more bites of ice cream before continuing. "She wasn't a bad person. I figured she had her reasons, and that they were good reasons. Lately I'm not so sure. Not after what she tried to do to Aiden and how she still refuses to tell me or the Vanguard what happened."

They lapsed back into awkward silence. Aiden was resting on Valora's head again, but he still watched Xander intently.

Valora hummed quietly for a moment before sighing deeply. "Aiden was Mac's Ghost. Mac was a Warlock too. We met on a research mission that he had requested I be placed on because he wanted an excuse to talk to me. I was flattered of course. He was almost something like a legend with the Warlocks. Willing to do anything to get the information he wanted, able to jerryrig almost anything to get back out again. We made a good team. I told him he was being an idiot. He told me not to worry so much. Jordan was our Titan protector of sorts. Nothing got past that girl and her rocket launcher."

"How long has it been since you lost them?"

"A while."

"And you're still alone?"

"I've done some training and the like. Mostly I do work for Ikora and for that it's best to go in alone. Part of the whole being hidden aspect, I suppose."

"It's boring most of the time." Aiden piped up. "I liked using gum to disable bombs, but sometimes we find something interesting."

"Like?"

"Like you and Ava. Like the Vex on Earth. Like space garbage that talks."

"Yes that was interesting," Valora laughed, "definitely unexpected."

Breaking off a piece of the waffle cone bowl Xander dipped it into the ice cream and ate it. Aiden floated closer to him to watch. "Space garbage that talks. Huh. Sounds like an interesting story."

"It is. Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime." Valora teased before pointing out the window. "We're here."

Xander walked up to stand behind Valora to peer through the windshield. Below he could see his ship parked crookedly in the grass not far from the treeline. The word 'sorry' was scrawled across one of the engines in fluorescent green paint, followed by a very cheeky looking smiley face.

"Same look as the duck." Aiden remarked.

"Same as the duck." Valora agreed, ignoring the questioning look Xander aimed at her.

He looked between the two for a moment before rolling his eyes at the realization that neither of them were going to explain. "A duck walks into a bar."

Aiden lit up immediately before spinning in an erratic circle and setting himself down on Xander's head. "Can I keep him?" He asked Valora. "I promise to clean up after him and walk him everyday!"

"That is true." Xander nodded along, bouncing the Ghost on his head. "I do need a walk everyday."

"How old are you?" Valora set the ship down hard, purposefully knocking Xander on his ass. Aiden went flying to the back of the ship, screaming the entire time.

"Five." Xander answered for both of them. He stood up and brushed himself as he looked over his shoulder at Aiden who was pouting in the back.

Standing in the cramped space, Valora stretched before grabbing her weapons and securing her helmet. "I see how you get along with Ava." She finally looked him over as he gathered his own weapons. He was tall, general Titan build, short dark hair, green eyes. He had sort of a lost puppy dog look to him. It was a face easy to trust.

"I suppose there isn't much wiggle room with somebody like her." Xander placed his helm over his face and Valora quickly turned to leave.

She paused before stepping out, however, her back to him. "She doesn't need you to be another Hunter, Xander." She didn't look at him when she spoke and her tone was gentle, a little unsteady.

"What?"

"She's a force of nature. I get it. She sort of just sweeps everybody along with her, but you can't let her drag you behind her. She needs an anchor to keep her feet on the ground. She needs a Titan." With that said she walked into the bright sunlight.

Xander stared after her for a few seconds in confusion before following.

Trailing behind Valora, Aiden scanned everything he passed and rattled off random facts about everything from the grass to the little scurrying creatures that rustled through it. He made them pause when they reached the splattered the carcass of a very large something. "I do believe Ava was here."

"Where did she get a gun?" Valora asked, nudging the shells strewn through the dirt with her foot. "Autorifle. Her weapon of choice, yes?"

"Indeed it is."

Aiden scanned the pile of mush. "This was a spider!"

"How do you know that?" Xander looked at the splattered mess and tried to imagine it as a spider. It had to have been pretty big to begin with to leave that behind.

"Because there's one right above you."

Xander looked up at a giant spider slowly descending toward his face on a delicate line of silk. "Oh. So there is." He took a step to the right. The spider continued down until they were eye-to-eye. "Hello."

The spider slowly detached one foreleg from the piece of web, and waved briefly before climbing back up into the tree.

"Well," Valora looked between Aiden, Xander, and the retreating spider, "that was certainly unexpected. Shall we continue?"

"Yeah that would be smart, I think." Xander lead the way past the spider's tree, walking slowly to keep an eye on Aiden who was still excitedly scanning everything he passed.

Valora looked around as well. It was pretty here. The grass was golden brown waving across the hills to the horizon on one side. The trees grew tall and mostly crooked, scattering patches of dappled shade across the hills on the other side. Her enjoyment of the landscape was ruined when Xander stopped abruptly and Aiden directed her attention to a red Ghost sitting at the base of a withered pine tree.

"This one is much older than the other one. Not as old as the first one we have recorded, but I doubt this Ghost was a local."

"And those?" Valora motioned to a pile of others underneath the red one and mostly buried in the dirt.

"Some old. Some new. Seems like a collection."

A chill went down Valora's spine. Xander rechecked his hand cannon and their surroundings. Valora leaned down and pulled some of the Ghosts out of the hole. "Red. Yellow. Orange. Yellow. Orange _and_ red. This one is detailed in little flames, and this one is orange."

"I'm sensing a trend." Xander was still surveying the area as he spoke. "Aiden, I think it's time you make good on your promise and stay out of sight."

Aiden hurriedly transmatted the Ghosts away and dematerialized without argument. Valora waited until he was done to talk. "Xander, what does this mean?"

"It means I know why Ava doesn't like Aiden, and why she came here alone."

She got the feeling they were being watched and she remembered the ghost's logs that Aiden had read to her. _And by something that knows me. Something hungry._ Valora wasn't sure she actually wanted an answer to solidify her suspicions, but still she asked. "Why?"

"Sorcha's Ghost was orange."

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _Okay, so, I was debating giving you this now or waiting to finish all the drama off before updating but I didn't want to make y'all wait a month between updates. Plus, I want to see you shiver in antici-_**

 ** _jsm1978- That spider thing was a real thing that happened. Greatly exaggerated, but real. I stabbed a wolf spider about the size of my hand with a pencil and it DID NOT DIE! I'm sure it died eventually, but it wasn't immediate and that is not okay. I fear his spider friends will seek retribution. Perhaps it will be a knife fighting alley gang of them that come for me in my sleep. (Do not mention that monstrosity that formal essays brought into this world. I will not be held responsible for that)_**

 ** _Jayfeattheris Awesome- I know I already explained the spider thing to you and then again literally just up there, but really IT DIDN'T DIE. I am not okay with this. *holds up plate of waffles* my annual gift (read: sacrifice)_**

 ** _FusRoDerp- Awwww thanks hopefully I do not disappoint you_**

 ** _Daydreamer B.A.- Xander does not often do 'actual emotion' but when he does *low whistle* you shall soon see, my friend, you shall soon see. The memory will be finished too, and many many dramatic explanations are also soon to follow. Next chapter will be packed with action and probably a lot of yelling tbh ;)_**


	15. Chapter 15

When Valora had pulled the last Ghost out of its shallow grave and announced its color Xander felt the world tilt under his feet just a little. A trend. A _trend?_ That was such a light word to describe the horror he felt as realization dawned on him. It made sense. He understood why seeing Aiden was the breaking point, and why she had chosen flight without looking back since she snapped.

Tightening up her grip on her gun, Valora stood slowly. Xander motioned her forward toward the school. "Just so I know you're still there." He mumbled as explanation while she took the lead. It was how him and Ava always did things. She was quicker than he was, more observant, and more reckless. He always had her back when she was too focused on what was in front of her to pay attention to what was behind; he kept her grounded, or he was supposed to. Valora hadn't been wrong about what she'd said leaving the ship.

"She's here." Miles informed him coldly through the comms so Valora could hear as well. He apparently was not yet over Xander 'letting' Ava leave. "I don't think she's doing very well though. Greer seems stressed."

"You talked to Greer?"

"Yeah. She wants us to be careful and suggested that if not both of us, then at least just Valora leave. I don't know why; she didn't explain anything before cutting out. I could play the message for you if you want, but I doubt you'll be able to get anything else out of it."

"I'm not leaving the two of you to deal with this alone." Valora remarked. Xander was just about to thank her, but she continued. "You'll probably screw it up again."

"Oh. We're back to this. That's fair. We're all stressed out."

Valora didn't respond and Xander didn't expect her to. She was scared. He could read the tension in her shoulders as she stepped through the the frame of a shattered glass door and entered the gloom of the dusty building. Despite her practically insisting that she come, Valora did not want to be here. Duty above all else.

There were uneven footprints on the dirty floor. Valora pointed out a place where Ava had stumbled and the resulting smudged grime on the wall where she had used her hand to keep her balance. Her condition before she had even left the Tower had been beyond poor. At this point she had to be draining her Light to a dangerous level to overcompensate for her physical exhaustion. Xander knew Ava to be reckless and impulsive, but this was a whole new level. She had never come this close to losing her Light.

"I know you don't think she could have done this." Valora started softly, her tone indicating that her point was going to be one he didn't like. "Maybe now it's time to consider the what if scenarios."

Xander considered telling her to shut up right then, but as they came to an intersection of hallways and Miles directed them to the left, he asked instead, "Such as?"

"Perhaps Ava has been playing you for a very long time." Valora reached out a hand to pull open a set of heavy, wood double doors at the beginning of the hallway. She was about to step into the dim, open room beyond when a voice drifted down from the ceiling.

"Stick to the wall. Follow it around to the right."

Xander looked over Valora's shoulder and caught sight of Ava laying across the rafters. He was about to ask what the hell she thought she was doing when she spoke again.

"I don't recommend running either. You'll upset the racoons." Her voice was light and nonchalant, no indication of the strain she was feeling. Surprisingly, her helmet was still on. She stood and stepped across the rafters to a catwalk before essentially sliding down a ladder. Looking down on them from a set of bleachers set on a balcony she gestured to the room around them. "Welcome to the party."

While Xander was staring at Ava, Valora had been surveying the room. She punched him in the leg and motioned to the elaborate trap set up throughout the center of the old gym. Smoke bombs, grenades, and various pieces of rubble were arranged pseudo-casually along the walls, hanging from the ceiling, or just sitting on the floor.

"Told you to stick to the wall." She was sitting on the bleachers now, her elbows propping her up on the seats behind her. "I would have preferred you not to have to be here, but I suppose that wasn't an option."

When Valora made no move to step beyond the doorway Xander took the lead again, watching carefully for anything that might be in his path. _I still trust her_. He tried to convince himself even as he tensed and waited for some form of attack. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"This is the one with the most beneficial outcome." Ava answered vaguely. Greer appeared over her shoulder and she immediately commanded her to dematerialize again. The Ghost, much like her Guardian, had a bad habit of forgetting she was in danger and would often appear to remind Ava of something mid battle. The fact that Ava was being so strict when there appeared to be no immediate threat was worrisome.

"The one? What _one?_ "

"Timeline. The other ones were a bit more… messy. Not that this one hasn't been so far. Have you noticed that? Back and forth and back and forth. Makes me dizzy." Groaning she sat up straight and her voice took more of a commanding tone. "You should walk faster than that."

Valora mumbled something to her Ghost that Xander couldn't quite catch, even through the comms, but he picked up his speed slightly. When he reached the bleachers he stayed near the edge and walked up the decrepit metal seats until he reached the railing and the balcony section Ava was sitting in.

"Come here often?" She asked coyly as Xander swung himself over the railing. She clearly wasn't about to be serious without prompting. He turned to help Valora over as well. The Warlock hesitate ever so slightly before allowing Xander to pull her up. She kept Xander between herself and Ava, not sure what to make of the situation quite yet.

Xander moved closer to Ava and she stood slowly. "I think we really need to talk, Ava." He started gently, pulling off his helm so she could see his face.

She pulled hers off as well just so he could see her roll her eyes. "Now really is not the time for this. I tried at the Tower, I really did, but right now this is not a recommended course of action." She kept her tone light, mocking Miles slightly to make it sound like a joke. When she smiled widely Xander recognized that smile. It was the 'my world is falling apart but I'm gonna act like it isn't for a little while longer' smile. It was a smile that belonged to her old self, not to the Nightstalker he had come to know.

"What do you mean you tried at the the Tower?" Xander asked, ignoring another eyeroll. He felt Miles bristle further at her use of his catch phrase. "All you did at the Tower was try to start a fight."

She laughed and continued indignantly, though overdramatically. "Of course I did. You never say anything honest any other way."

" _I'm_ never honest? Says the girl who literally just snuck out of the Tower. The girl who _killed_ her best friend and never gave a decent reason for it."

If she heard what Xander had said about Sorcha, Ava ignored it entirely. "Calling me a brat is the first honest thing you've said to me since I showed back up at the Tower a Nightstalker. Even before then you were all sugarcoated explanations and passive aggressive comments. Then you pretend like you didn't mean it _that_ way and make it out like it's all in my head. You never just say what you're thinking, dammit!" She didn't raise her voice until the last sentence, and her forced smile fell into cold emotionlessness. She didn't seem to have the energy to be truly angry at him.

"And you couldn't handle that!" Xander yelled back at her as he realized his own anger. This entire mission had been completely fucked up and it started with Ava and one of her temper tantrums. "You went off and got yourself hurt and now we're all in this mess because you're still throwing a fit like a toddler. You killed Sorcha for whatever it was she said to you last, and I see that same look on your face every time I've been 'honest' with you this whole mission."

Ava went stone still, her brown eyes suddenly looked grey, and Xander wondered if she had just hit the bottom of the pit she was falling into. "You didn't have to make that choice. You don't get to judge me. We don't have time for this." She turned suddenly toward a noise Xander couldn't hear before replacing her helmet and stalking off toward the end of the bleachers.

Ava hadn't indicated she wanted them to follow, but, shrugging, Xander secured his own helm and, with a glance back at Valora, followed anyway.

Her back against one of the support beams, Ava sat under the bleachers reassembling an autorifle near identical to the one she'd left behind on Venus.

"How did you get that?" Xander knew exactly where her original rifle was, and that she wouldn't have been able to access her Marks or Glimmer without someone knowing.

"I asked very nicely." She responded shortly.

"You asked Jalaal for a gun and he just _gave_ you one? Try again."

She shrugged. "Offered to do a little recon in the future. Why do you care?" She didn't sound upset, which was the first indicator that she was, indeed, upset.

"Tell me what happened, what choice it was you had to make." He asked gently, but there was an edge of a command there that he didn't often use with her. He didn't even care to mention the fact that she had potentially sold her soul to a faction for a rifle.

Ava slammed a full clip into her gun. The noise angrier than her voice when she spoke. "You don't want to know, and I don't want to talk about it. We are _not_ getting into a screaming match here." Whatever she was expecting was enough to keep her from yelling at him, and that was something. She stood up shakily and finally faced Valora. "You are to keep your hyperactive Ghost out of sight. I don't care if you get shot, break your neck, or pass a very interestingly shaped rock. He stays hidden."

Xander recognized that voice- completely devoid of any personal emotions. She had slipped into a very dangerous battle calm. It was the smooth calculation that made her an incredible leader, and a deadly enemy. He questioned which one she was supposed to be to them at this point. "Ava," he tried again, "we _need_ to talk about this. Now."

"No."

"Why did you kill Sorcha?"

"I told you we are not doing this now."

"Why did you kill Sorcha?" He would repeat himself until she answered.

She went to turn away from him.

" **Why did you kill Sorcha?!** "

"Because it was her or you!" He couldn't see her face, but the pain was evident in her voice and he found himself believing her.

"What?" Xander asked.

He was answered by a knife embedding itself in his armor. Ava moved, not toward him, but toward Valora. In one smooth motion Ava kicked Valora's feet out from under her and elbowed her in the chest. Valora fell flat on her back, and another knife clattered uselessly against metal behind where Valora's head had been a second before. Ava caught the knife by the hilt before it hit the ground and was moving in the direction it had come from before Xander could wrap his brain around what had just happened.

"Don't leave her side." Ava ordered as she disappeared into the gloom and criss-crossing metal.

Valora pulled herself up and stared after Ava. "Did she just use us as bait?"

 **~O~**

Ava had been expecting the move against the others and she nearly felt bad about it. Nearly because she had tried to do this without them getting involved, and even told them to leave despite knowing this was the only way to set things into motion. Also nearly because until this was over she had no time to feel anything that wasn't useful.

She had felt the eyes on her back since shortly after the spider incident. The rest of the world around her had gone quiet, leaving Ava the sole target. Then she felt guilty for poking fun at the little creature she saw earlier. It was no fun knowing that no matter how fast you ran the distance to safety was just too far to make.

She stumbled on the stairs to the main floor, her shoulder slamming into the wall before she managed to right herself without losing too much speed.

 _You can't keep this up forever._ Greer warned.

Ava repositioned the knife in her hand, flipping it so the blade stuck out through the bottom of her fist as she skidded out of the tiny stairwell into the open. _Doesn't need to work forever. Just a little while longer._

She could feel the undercurrent of exhaustion threatening to sweep her away, but if she didn't look down yet she wouldn't fall. It was the blind determination rule, and it usually worked very well for her. She had the feeling, however, that this was where her luck would run out.

Instead of following the shadow slipping through through the rubble, avoiding all the various traps Ava had painstakingly set, she stepped back onto the lower bleachers. Walking backwards up a few steps she kept her focus on the faded basketball court in front of her, and her back to where she could hear Valora trying to placate Xander. Greer must have realized Ava wasn't part of their comm link so she patched her in. Xander was angry. Ava ignored it.

She was focused on the shadows not quite illuminated by the fading light that managed to find its way down from the caved in portions of the high ceiling. Earlier Ava had had to chase off various little, curious creatures that were far too used to life uninterrupted by people to be afraid of her. But this time Ava had the advantage when everything else went still. She knew what was going to happen next.

Xander swore when he noticed the first signs of Vex arrival. Ava smiled. "Bet you weren't expecting that, bitch." In training they were told not to use their emotions, especially anger, as a crutch. It was stressed, however, that emotions could be an effective weapon when used correctly. Ava wasn't sure which her anger was more of at the moment: crutch or weapon. Either way it was useful, and she was going to take full advantage of it.

The knife in her hand was old. The blade was chipped and crooked, but it was still sharp. Ava used it to take the head off the first Goblin that tried to step up onto the bleachers. It stumbled back, setting off one of the grenades Ava had left on the floor. A line of purple fire sprang up, cutting through the Goblin and spreading deeper into the crowd of Vex. Voidwall grenades weren't meant to be used that way. A lot of what was about to go on wasn't supposed to happen this way.

Soon after the first grenade went off chaos erupted throughout the room. Explosions and smoke and falling rocks. Xander and Valora opened fire adding to the discord. The Vex were not fond of chaos; they stopped appearing, and it would stay that way until things calmed down.

Without thinking her actions through- partly because she didn't have the energy and partly because she knew it was a bad idea anyway- Ava leapt down into the fray. She didn't bother with her gun slung across her back, not yet. Knives would do if she needed them, otherwise she weaved through the mess without getting involved.

Her steps across the floor were calculated. She'd measured the distance more than once while waiting, the distance between the stairwell and the most defendable part of the floor. Rubble was piled up between two conjoining walls, creating a barricade that separated the far corner from the rest of the room. Ava didn't take her eyes off of her destination, even as metal slammed into her and light and bullets flashed through her vision. Some of it hers, some belonging to her allies still crouched on the balcony, some of it Vex. None of it important.

"Ava!" Xander yelled after her "Ava, what are you doing?"

The fear in his voice sent terror racing through Ava's blood. She threw that fear onto the bonfire of rage she was relying on. For so long she had been ice and darkness that she forgot the feeling of electricity thrumming through her veins, and now that it was back it threatened to rip her apart.

Smoke and lightning. The distractions had run dry. The Vex had a stake in this now. They weren't going to be easily deterred.

 _Thirty seconds._ Greer warned softly.

Ava stepped onto the pile of rubble, barely flinching as a bolt from a Slap Rifle hit her back. She heard crashing metal behind her and didn't have to turn to know Xander had taken care of the threat. It didn't matter very much anyway. She was about to do something stupid.

Orange light streaked over Ava's shoulder, illuminating her surroundings. She barely caught a glimpse of tangled blonde hair before Sorcha slammed into her, throwing them both off the pile of rubble. Ava took the brunt of the fall, and she was glad she had kept her helm on as her head hit the ground first.

 _Twenty-five._

They rolled across the floor, taking a few Vex down as they went, stopping only when they hit a Minotaur. Ava kicked Sorcha off of her and they both scrambled to their feet. She felt like saying something stupid and cliche, but she didn't get the chance.

Sorcha struck first. She wasted no time, going straight for Ava's neck with another chipped and crooked knife. Having once worn similar armor, Sorcha knew exactly where to aim. Ava dodged the attack clumsily. Her vision was darkening around the edges as her body screamed for sleep. She was running out of options; she was running out of Light.

 _Twenty._

Staying on the defensive, Ava backed up slowly, drawing Sorcha further into the center of the room. Valora and Xander were drawing most of the Vex fire, but not all of it, and Ava had armor. Sorcha didn't.

"You couldn't just leave me alone, could you?" Sorcha hissed through her teeth as she advanced toward Ava. "You had to come back and ruin the little bit of life you had left me." Sorcha looked as she had in the dream. Her eyes were dark and her mouth twisted into a snarl. Ava looked away from her face.

 _Fifteen._

Shoving away any other emotion but anger Ava stopped walking and stood her ground. "Didn't have a choice. You were hurting people."

"I haven't-" Resentful. Betrayed. Excuses.

"The Ghosts, Sorcha!"

At her old name Sorcha paused a few steps from where Ava had stopped. "Don't call me that-"

 _Ten._

"-and I just wanted to talk to them. I never meant to hurt them. They wouldn't listen to me!" Her bitterness turned to hatred in the space of a breath. "You took him away from me, Ava. You took my little light away."

 _Five._

The anguish in Sorcha's voice shocked Ava, pierced her heart. It knocked her off balance and snuffed out the anger she was desperately relying on. Not able to muster enough energy to speak at full volume Ava whispered, "Kindle was already dead."

With a shriek of rage Sorcha launched herself at Ava again, knocking her back to the ground. For the second time in under thirty seconds Ava's head slammed into the ground, and she was reminded of all the times Xander scolded her about taking her helm off in combat zones.

 _Zero._

She didn't need Greer's calm reminder to know that the time was up. The air grew dark and heavy once more. Flashes of light spider webbed through the cloud as Vex forms began to take shape. The biggest shape began to solidify directly above them. Ava grinned as she left Light grace her fingertips. One hit. Just one. Then she could sleep.

Valora cried out in pain, drawing both girls' attention. The Warlock toppled over the railing and hit the seats below with a sickening crunch. Xander jumped down and landed next to her in an attempt to help.

Sorcha was about to turn back to Ava when a flash and a tiny, orange bot caught her eye. Aiden appeared over his felled Guardian in a panic. Xander tried to grab the Ghost and hide it from view, but the damage was already done.

Forgetting about Ava completely Sorcha shoved herself to her feet and pulled a gun free of a makeshift holster. The gun looked vaguely like a fusion rifle, smaller and more cobbled together than any Ava had seen, but there was no mistaking the charge as she held the trigger down. She was aiming for Aiden.

Not able to push herself up Ava grabbed Sorcha's ankle as she tried to move away. Sorcha kicked back, catching Ava's outstretched arm and bending it backwards. Ava let go with a yelp, and Sorcha started forward again. The gun discharged and Xander took the hit, shielding the Ghost with his body as he tried to heal Valora.

Desperate Ava managed to sit up and grabbed for her Light. Pain shuddered through her, and she felt like the arrow ripped her soul out as it left the bow. She missed Sorcha entirely, but managed to hit the ground close enough that a tether reached out and snared her. Holding onto the anchor was like forcing herself to hold something white hot in her hand. The feeling worsened when it snared about a dozen Vex when they finished materializing, including the Hydra above her. She wanted nothing more than to crumple into a ball and let go, but Sorcha was struggling against the snare, her eyes still locked on Aiden. A few more steps and she would be free, and she would not miss a second time.

Drowning out Greer's protests and the pain threatening to tear her into pieces Ava summoned her blade and buried it in the Hydra above her.

Lightning raced through the tethers, and an explosion of Void and Arc energy shattered through all her victims. From a distant place Ava vaguely admired the beauty of it before she suddenly felt nothing at all.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 _ **I'M SO SO SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSOOOO SORRY! The holidays got crazy when we had family come up unexpectedly for Christmas and then I spent the last week of break in Seattle for my sister's 10th birthday so I literally didn't get a chance to write anything over break. Then the second school started again I had to deal with the dreaded curse of finals so... Yeah, there's all my excuses for why it's been over a month and I am really very sorry.**_

 _ ***clears throat* anyway, I'm not sure about this chapter honestly. I wasn't able to get as far as I wanted with it originally because I didn't have the time and I'm not sure if it's just me or not, but I feel like something is missing... or wrong... or**_ **something** ** _. Eh, I'll figure it out eventually I suppose_**

 ** _jsm1978- Thank you! The dead Ghosts actually make me very sad because I love them and they deserved better :/_**

 ** _Order and Chaos- I fixed that stuff you mentioned in the last chapter. Sorry about that. No she didn't dump the ice cream out just sort of set it in the grass I guess... All things concerning the connection between Thing, the Vex, and Sorcha will be made clear very soon_**

 ** _Daydreamer B.A.- Thank you for your kind compliments! I'm sorry I didn't update a lot sooner! I love Valora and Aiden very much they are my children and I honestly enjoy squishy Valora much more than icy Valora so there shall be more because she is wonderful *deep breath* Ava's recklessness is about to bite her in the ass, and Xander isn't going to let her get away with it this time so the yelling I promised will be epic_**

 ** _Jayfeather- BABY GROOT IS WONDERFUL AND GIVES ME ALL THE FEELS AND SO DOES AIDEN WITH HIS ICE CREAM SADLY THE NEXT LITTLE BIT IS KIND OF DARK SO HOLD ON TO THE ICE CREAM FOR DEAR LIFE_**

 ** _Igglytots- sorry I didn't in fact update soon lol I feel bad, but yes Xander will indeed be doing some serious thinking and things definitely aren't going to be pretty for a little while longer_**

 ** _theshyplum97- Honestly Ava could probably benefit from some form of therapy and learn how to deal with her emotions in a less destructive manner because she's got some major issues with that :/ Yes, Valora and Ava are in many ways the other's opposite which will eventually prove to be beneficial along with catastrophic_**


	16. Chapter 16

_Slipping through the trees, Ava tried to calm herself. Her anger and her fear battled with the exhaustion in her bones, but they all seemed to agree that this was a terrible idea. At the very core of it all she already knew how this would end. She had known for a while, and put it off as long as she could. In doing so she had probably made the entire situation worse._

 _Ava chewed on her lip thoughtfully as she considered her options. "Can you get a location on Kindle?"_

" _Still no."_

" _Why?"_

 _Greer sighed, a long suffering sigh purely for effect. She had been trying to discuss what was up with Kindle for days now, and Ava had ignored her. Now she acted like it was new information that Sorcha's Ghost was acting weird. That Sorcha was acting weird._

 _Ava wanted to turn around and go back to the Tower. She wanted to keep ignoring the problem, but she couldn't do that anymore. Not when they could have saved those people. Ava had no problem taking the hits for Sorcha while she worked through whatever was going on, but this had gone past that point. It had been past that point for a while now._

" _Shouldn't have kept this a secret." Greer chided. There was more than a hint of reproach in the comment. Ava didn't bother arguing. She knew the Ghost had a point. Why did she think she could handle this alone?_

 _They were quiet the rest of the walk. When Ava passed the woman who sacrificed her life she forced herself to look at the carnage. Forced herself to remember it. This was her punishment for not doing something sooner._

 _Sorcha was waiting for Ava not far from the trees. She would have prefered to stay sheltered in the pines because here the ground was relatively flat, empty, and exposed._

" _Hey." Ava said weakly, not sure what else she was supposed to start with._

 _Sorcha stared back at her with her eyes narrowed, her weight on one leg. She was holding a throwing knife loosely at her side. Kindle hovered in front of her, somewhere between the two._

" _I think we need to talk about this." Ava's hands were shaking. Pathetic. She was so pathetic she couldn't even meet Sorcha's hateful glare._

" _You can talk all you want." Sorcha moved to turn away._

" _Don't." Ava demanded, clenching her fists against the shaking. Against the panic. "Don't walk away from me. We need to talk about this. People died today, Sorcha. People we could have saved if you had been there." She talked softly, afraid to raise her voice and give into her emotions. She had never been afraid to yell at Sorcha before. They yelled at each other all the time, but now something was different. Ava was afraid that if she raised her voice it would knock them both off the ledge they seemed to be standing on._

 _Sorcha sneered at her, sensing her apprehension. "You've killed plenty of the Eliksni. Why are they any different?"_

 _Honestly, Ava wasn't sure what the difference was anymore. Part of her agreed with Sorcha. Where do you draw the line in a war? When did there become an acceptable amount of death on either side? "Sorcha-"_

" _Stop saying my name like that!" There was the fire burning in Sorcha's eyes, and glowing along the blade of the knife she held in her now raised hand, ready to throw. Kindle seemed to droop, his usually impeccable, bright orange shell was cracked and dirty. Ava watched the Ghost instead of watching Sorcha._

" _What's wrong with Kindle?"_

 _Sorcha hesitated at the question, she glanced at her Ghost before snarling at Ava. "Nothing. He's fine."_

" _Kindle?" Ava addressed the Ghost._

" _I said there's nothing wrong with him." Sorcha snapped, stepping forward, closing the gap between herself and the Ghost slightly, but she didn't reach out to him. Kindle didn't respond. He didn't even look at Ava. Didn't light up. Nothing._

 _Sorcha spoke calmly. Lethal softness. "Why don't you believe me, Ava?"_

 _The sudden change in demeanor threw Ava and she found herself answering honestly. "I don't know. You just- Something seems wrong, Sorcha."_

" _Stop saying it like that!"_

" _Can you just, please, put down the knife and talk to me about this. Tell me why you bailed on us."_

 _Sorcha did not put the knife down, though her fire faded slightly. "I've tried to talk to you. You won't listen to me."_

" _I'm listening now." Ava pleaded. "We've always talked about things, argued about things. What changed that?"_

 _Sorcha hesitated, nearly lowering her weapon before her eyes moved to something past Ava and she tensed again._

 _Afraid to turn away from the crazy in Sorcha's eyes, Ava held out a hand to stop Xander in his tracks. "Xander, go away." She tried to make the order sound confident, but her wavering voice gave away her misgivings._

" _What? No, Ava, Sorcha, we have to go back to the Tower. Now." Xander spluttered behind her._

" _It's him, isn't it?" Sorcha asked Ava with deceptive softness._

" _No-"_

" _If he wasn't around you wouldn't be against me."_

 _Shaking her head earnestly, Ava tried to stop the onslaught she sensed. "I'm not against you. Nobody is against you."_

" _He is. That's why he's here, because I figured it out and they don't want me to know. So they sent him and you fell for it. You're so stupid. Why can't you see what I see?" Sorcha was shaking now, and Ava recognized it as barely contained rage._

" _Who's them?"_

" _They're them. He's them!" And her eyes slid back to Xander over Ava's shoulder._

 _Ava saw the way Sorcha shifted her weight, moving her left foot forward. Her grip tightened on the knife._

" _Miles." Greer intoned, and Ava risked a glance over her shoulder at the Ghost to confirm that Sorcha was not aiming at Xander. His Ghost was floating over his shoulder, both of them completely oblivious._

" _Sorcha." Ava said softly, panic tightening her chest._

 _Sorcha's eyes flicked to Ava for a second. "If he wasn't here, you wouldn't doubt me." And she flicked her wrist back, preparing to let the knife fly, but before she could release the knife from her fingers Ava moved without thinking. She didn't have time to think. Her instincts took over and her Light gleamed along her arm as she called her blade. Sorcha was too far away, but Kindle was close enough._

 _The Ghost was hitting the ground in two pieces before Ava was even sure what she was doing. Sorcha gaped at her, the knife forgotten in her hand, and Xander forgotten in her fury._

 _Not able to risk anything but a look of steely determination, Ava shoved her breaking heart away and leveled her blade at Sorcha's chest over the pieces of her Ghost. "Walk away, Sorcha. Don't make me kill you."_

" _You chose him." Murder burned in Sorcha's eyes, but she didn't dare advance on Ava with that blade glimmering between them. "He'll leave you, Ava, and so will the Traveler. When you're alone you will remember that it's because you chose him over me." and she stalked away._

 _Motionlessly Ava watched her leave, tears silently sliding down her face only when Sorcha was far enough away she couldn't see them if she looked. When Sorcha's figure disappeared into the landscape Ava finally dropped to her knees next to the Ghost and clutched his dirty shell to her chest._

" _Ava?" Xander's voice penetrated her world of empty silence. "What did you just do?"_

" _I didn't have a choice." She whispered without looking at him. It was a lie. She had a choice, they were just both wrong._

 _The scene changed. The same feeling of the world shattering, but now it was Valora, still reeling from the loss of Karida, being pulled behind cover. Mack wrapped his arms around her, trying to block out the sounds of their impending death._

" _Breathe." Mack mumbled his bare forehead pressed against the top of her scorched and dented helm._

" _Where's Jordan?" Valora asked through a shuddering gasp._

" _I don't know." Mack admitted._

" _She was right behind me." Valora half sobbed. "I should have-"_

" _Don't." Mack pulled her closer. "No blame."_

 _An explosion rocked the crate they were crouched behind. "We'll have to run." Mack ordered as he grabbed Valora's hand and prepared to pull her to her feet._

" _I can't. Karida- If I get hit-"_

" _You won't get hit."_

" _But-"_

" _Valora, you will not get hit." He squeezed her hand lightly and smiled gently. "I will not let you get hurt."_

 _She nodded and let him pull her up. They ran for the relative safety of the nearest hallway, Mack shoving Valora ahead of him._

 _They were almost there. Valora was reaching ahead of herself in an attempt to grab the wall to stop her stumbling when he slammed into her back and knocked her to the ground. His shout of pain resounded with the thud of their bodies hitting the floor._

 _Valora scrambled out from under Mack's body and dragged him further into the temporary shelter. Aiden appeared over him, oddly subdued. "Valora, he's dead."_

" _Then do something!"_

" _Too much Darkness. I-"_

" _Help him!"_

" _Valora! I can't!"_

" _No-" she grabbed Mack's shoulders and tried to pull him up. "There has to be something. I- I can help him."_

 _Aiden buzzed at her face, trying to push her back. "You can't. You're_ not _a Sunsinger. You don't know how!"_

" _I have to."_

" _You don't have a Ghost anymore. You shouldn't-"_

" _I have to." She cried, setting her jaw as she tried to find the fire she had never understood past the Void. She didn't know how Mack could do that. How he could build with his flames. She never had, but she had to try for him._

" _Valora stop!" Aiden slammed into her chest repeatedly in an attempt to push her back. "You don't know how. You're just going to hurt yourself."_

" _I have to." She was shaking as she tried to find the peaceful glow within her. It had to be somewhere. She had never had a particular predilection for one subclass over another. They all came easily to her, but Void was the one she had chosen to train in. Now she was regretting that decision_

" _He knew what he was doing, Valora!" He wouldn't want you to do this."_

 _Valora ignored Aiden, prepared to bring Mack back or die trying. Someone grabbed her shoulders, tugging her away from his body. For a moment she thought it was Jordan, but the movement was too rough. She was dragged backwards onto her feet, and then, when she continued to resist, was thrown over the shoulder of an unknown Titan and carried away._

 _By reflex she reached out and caught Aiden in her bloody hand as she screamed Mack's name. Saving Aiden, who would have died at Mack's side as soon as Valora, was the last thing she could think to do for him now that she was leaving him alone in this horrible, dark place._

 **~o~**

It was the sensation of the world ending, or perhaps beginning. Of being folded and squeezed through the head of a needle. Of being chewed up by something with razor sharp teeth that took a ridiculously long time to decide it didn't want to swallow its meal before spitting it out. And spit out they were, violently and suddenly, onto the hard packed dirt without ceremony.

Xander landed near Valora. The Warlock cried out in pain as she hit the ground, whatever wounds she had sustained- before they were shredded apart and thrown back together- were not finished healing. He moved to help her as she curled up on her side, looking over his shoulder for Aiden. The Ghost had still been hovering over her when Ava had stabbed the Hydra and whatever just happened happened. Now he wasn't sure where Aiden was, and he didn't immediately see Ava through the sparse trees either.

It took a moment for the change of scenery to catch up to him, but when it did he felt he had to force himself not to dwell on it. They were not where they just were, but there was nothing for him to do about it at the moment. At least they were still on Earth.

When he reached Valora's side she was trying to push herself up and he helped her into a sitting position. "Aiden?" She asked breathlessly, her voice strained. After a panicked moment of trying to see through her damaged visor, Valora took her helm off altogether and threw it at the ground. It bounced away and she was momentarily distracted by it before she returned to looking for the Ghost.

Xander was preparing himself to admit that he didn't know what had happened to Aiden when he finally appeared. They heard him first. He came buzzing through the trees, skimming the ground occasionally and giving the impression that somebody had tried to skip him across a lake. "I'm okay!" he hollered. "I'm coming! Hold on Valora!"

She caught him deftly in one hand before he could go barrelling over her shoulder. As the Ghost composed himself and set about scanning his Guardian, Xander stood and started looking for Ava.

There was no sign of the Vex. Xander wasn't sure if that was because Ava had killed them or if they were better at controlling space-time distortions and went somewhere else. Somewhen else? This was getting confusing. He was starting to understand Ava's constant headache.

He caught sight of Greer hanging listlessly above a still form and panic jolted through him when he realized she wasn't doing anything. Not scanning, not healing, not even looking at Ava who was lying in the grass on her back. Greer was simply staring at Xander as he approached with an empty gaze.

"Do something!" Xander yelled at her as he dropped down on his knees. He shook Ava's shoulders and looked her over. Her armor didn't look too bad and there weren't any obvious injuries that he could see, except for one. Her right hand was a mangled mess. He couldn't recognize where her armor ended and her flesh bagan. It was all just… seared together. A clear indication of her loss of control, something Xander had never seen with her. She was reckless, yes, but never before to this degree.

"I can't." Greer said quietly, a hint of sadness in her robotic voice.

"Of course you can. You just need some help. I can help. Miles?"

Occasionally, especially in the presence of heavy Darkness, it was necessary to assist a Ghost in a revive. It was something like a jump start of Light. Xander didn't really understand how it worked, he just knew that it did.

"Xander," exasperated, Greer tried to explain, "she doesn't have anything left. There is nothing to work with. There is nothing I can do."

He stared at the Ghost as, slowly, realization dawned.

"I'm sorry. I tried to warn her. She was desperate."

His hands shaking, Xander unsecured her helm. The one time she had managed to keep it on… and it didn't even matter. He had just pulled it off when Valora shoved him out of the way.

"Don't worry. Valora's got this." Aiden said to Xander, then quietly to Valora. "You do got this? Right? Are you sure you're not too-"

"Hush." She pushed the Ghost away before hesitating briefly, her hands hovering over Ava. She curled her fingers into fists and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Then, for the first time since Xander had known him, Aiden advised Valora to be careful.

The Warlock flattened her palms against Ava's chest and a warm, golden glow enveloped both women. After only a second Valora groaned and bowed her head, folding in on herself, but she didn't stop.

Ava took a gasping breath, struggled for a moment, then the rise and fall of her chest evened out. Valora covered her own face with her now extinguished hands and moved away, shaking.

Xander watched her walk away, hesitated, then checked Ava's pulse. It was steady and strong. He smoothed her tangled hair off her face, tucked her cloak under her head, and went to check on Valora.

She was sitting with her back pressed against the trunk of a tree, hugging Aiden against her chest and crying softly. He sat down next to her and gently set his hand on her shoulder. She didn't move closer, but she didn't move away either. "I couldn't save him." She said through a sob.

"I know." Xander replied quietly, his gaze moved from Ava peacefully sleeping a few feet away then to the horizon where the sun was barely visible over distant mountains. "Sometimes you can't."

They stayed like that for a while. Valora didn't cry for long. When she stopped shaking, Xander quietly moved his hand and set it in his lap.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "Light wise? I mean, I'm not sure what you did, but it couldn't have been easy."

Valora leaned her head against the tree trunk behind her, and watched the horizon with half closed eyes. Aiden sat quietly on her head. "I'll be fine. She'll be fine, too, eventually. Might take her a while to recover and wake up. Maybe we should take her back to the Tower?"

"Can't." Miles said, appearing over Xander's shoulder with a little flash. "Can't call the ships or contact the Tower. I've been trying."

Xander glanced at his Ghost in surprise as the bot had neglected to inform him about that. He had the feeling he was going to have a lot of work to do to fix his relationship with Miles.

"Our physical location is nearly where we just were." Greer said, floating over from Ava. "Our location on the timeline, however, is approximately 52 hours before where we were."

Valora perked up, her eyes glinting in the shadows of twilight. "You're saying we currently exist twice?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"That is so _cooooool._ " Aiden yelled as he flipped off Valora's head.

Valora looked at the Ghost and a smile lit up her face. "We traveled through time."

"How?" Xander asked, ruining the moment slightly.

"Ava." Miles offered.

They all looked to Greer who confirmed it with a nod-like bob. "She was connected to the Hydra when it tried to… jump. I think she pulled the two of you with her."

"That's why we saw into her head." Valora whispered in awe. "Wait. Why mine too?"

"You and Ava are very similar, and the emotions in both memories were very similar. A connection must have been made. Besides, I think at that point Ava was dead and Valora sort of… took over." Greer explained blandly. Given the circumstances she was much less excited than she normally would have been.

"Where did everything else go?" Miles asked, bringing the mood back down with the reminder that they had in fact been in the midst of a battle.

Greer answered him. "Everything tethered to the Hydra must have gone to wherever the Hydra went, including Sorcha."

"Oh." Xander mumbled.

"Yeah." Valora agreed.

"Do you think we're safe here?" Greer asked.

Valora shrugged. "Relatively."

"I think I got it, but can you just say it all again because this makes absolutely no sense." Aiden brought back the humor as only he could, and the two Guardians laughed, if a bit uneasily, before settling back to wait out their temporary exile.

 **~o~**

 _Ava was pulled from the sea of nothingness that she was sinking through by a sharp pain in her right arm and an incessant voice. It was her voice, but from a time she wasn't convinced she remembered._

" _Wake up. You can't quit now."_

" _I want to."_

" _You've wasted too many wants to get one now. Pay attention. You have to finish this."_

 _Her voice faded into a quick succession of unorganized scenes that danced through Ava's consciousness, filling the spaces still left empty and ending with one thing, something she realized she had never actually forgotten._

 _She was sitting on the floor, her back to the door. Her fingernails dug into her arms and she tried to block out the noise of them arguing outside her room. Yelling at her to come out. She was biting through her lip, she could taste the blood in her mouth ,and blood trickled down her arms from where her nails pierced her skin. When she opened her eyes, panicked tears sliding down her face, she caught sight of the shattered glass under her bed from the little bluebird she had thrown at the wall in frustration a few days ago._

" _You can't hide from this forever." He yelled with one final bang on the door._

 _She didn't move or respond, her eyes locked on the glass scattered across the floor. Her decision had been tactical. It agreed. But that didn't make it right. How could she condemn a future generation to fight something her's couldn't? They had messed with time. Did that not make them as bad as the Vex? Contorting natural law in an attempt to save themselves? Everything about this was wrong, and she had given the order, made the choice. Between annihilation now and annihilation later. She just hoped someone more qualified would be able to resolve the problem, though she didn't wish that burden on her worst enemy. And she was beginning to realize that her worst enemy was, in fact, herself._

 ** _~ASDFJKL~_**

 ** _Hey-o! Honestly this is so late because of who I am as a person and I have absolutely no excuse other than that,but anyway here you go! I don't have much to say about this other than 1. Valora needs a hug and 2. Ava is about to get the scolding of her lifetime_**

 ** _Lastly, because a few of you mentioned it and it has honestly been bugging me too: Sorcha's appearance was not supposed to be that sudden I don't really know what happened with that last chapter I think I couldn't get it to come out right and then got impatient. I might fix it later, but for now it is what it is._**

 ** _Order and Chaos- yeah, I'm not very proud of the last chapter just because things kind of got al muddled up and confusing :( Sorry about that._**

 ** _Amberstar- Eat. All. The. Ice cream!_**

 ** _Daydreamer BA- Squishy Valora did not deserve the sadness that I have heaped upon her. I cried writing (read: thinking about in gruesome detail) Mack's death not gonna lie (though watching Riverdale and then listening to the Wicked soundtrack may have had a part in that O.o) Yes Xander is starting to come out of his helicopter parent bubble and realize that AVA NEEDS TO CALM TF DOWN There is massive yelling to come. Many insults are traded. Valora escapes relatively unharmed being new and all, which she deserves after everything anyway, and somebody stubs their toe..._**

 ** _Jayfeatther- all the timey wimey my friend SQUIRRELS ARE SHADY BEWARE THE SQUIRRELS THEY WILL MESS YOU UP_**

 ** _concernedreader- hello yes hopefully this update wasn't too late for you eeeee sorry *shrug emoji* much thinking shall be done my friend, and quite a bit of yelling too_**


	17. Chapter 17

Ava woke up slowly. She drifted for a while listening to the trees. Strong gusts of wind blew through the them and she could hear the next one coming before it hit her by the building rushing of the branches. She liked the feeling of the open world around her. It made it easier to wake up here, peacefully, instead of jolting awake choking on stale, processed air.

Between the gusts of wind Ava could hear Xander and Valora talking quietly some way off. It was the only thing that reminded her that she wasn't out here alone. Otherwise it was all too easy for her to forget that time had passed since the hell that was trying to survive after what she did to Sorcha.

Ava didn't want to be alone again, not like that. Somehow she had dragged Xander and Valora along with only the _thought_ of how it felt to be left behind in the snow crying because she wasn't strong enough to hold everything together. So this time she had been. Right or wrong, she had not let go of Xander or Valora. Even though it had quite literally killed her.

Now it would be harder to maintain the distance she was trying so hard to force between herself and anybody else. She had shown her hand. Xander was going to kill her. Well, not kill. He was a better person than she was after all, but once she decided to open her eyes the following scene would not be pleasant.

Greer knew she was awake. So far neither of them had acknowledged the other. Ava didn't feel worthy of talking to her Ghost at the moment. Not because she had almost killed herself, but because she had _wanted_ what she did to kill her. She wasn't sure how to deal with that.

She started with slowly opening her eyes. Needle bearing branches waved far overhead, outlined by a deep blue sky. Some of the more resilient stars were shining through. It was evening, Ava decided. Too warm to be early morning. Her right hand hurt like hell and she vaguely remembered plunging the blade into the Hydra. _Her blade_.

"It's only been about twenty-five hours." Valora's voice drifted over on the wind. "There's still over twenty hours left before we can go anywhere. Worrying about Ava isn't going to make her wake up any faster, and she won't be worth much in a fight for a good while anyway. Neither of use will be."

Ava resented that. She knew it was true, but she resented it. Her hand hurt enough that she was actually afraid to look at it. She was also vaguely nauseous, dizzy, and disoriented which she expected to increase when she tried to move. It was very apparent that she wouldn't be any use in a fight, but she wasn't sure why Valora wouldn't be.

And then she realized: Valora had saved her. Ava knew Valora was a Sunsinger, but the ability to heal others was advanced, and fairly dangerous in the field. She had seen her desperate attempt to save Mac. She had to have worked tirelessly to improve her Solar abilities to be able to save Ava. Ava who had nearly killed Aiden, Valora's last connection to the man she loved.

She sat up suddenly, but she couldn't make it to her feet. Xander was at her side in an instant. She shoved him away twice before he managed to calm her down. He couldn't get her to lay back down, but settled for letting her sit with her legs tucked under her. He didn't move from her side either, though Ava threatened to stab him if he didn't leave her the fuck alone.

Valora certainly kept her distance. "How do you feel?" She asked from where she was sitting, her back to a tree trunk, Aiden resting on her uncovered head.

"I'm not dead." Ava said after a moment spent considering the question and sizing Valora up. "Should be, but I'm not."

"Wait," Xander started tensing up, "are you… mad at her? For literally saving your life?"

"Yes, I'm mad." Ava answered evenly, eyes still locked on Valora. "It was stupid and reckless."

Valora looked to Xander, mouth half open to say something, but stopping herself in deference to him. Xander barely looked at her, all his attention on Ava as his expression changed from astonishment to anger. "You're lecturing _her_ about being reckless?"

"Yes," Ava said matter of factly, focusing on him again with some effort, "and I'll lecture you too. What were you thinking?"

"What was _I_ thinking?" Xander, incredulous, pushed himself to his feet and began pacing. He missed the tired flicker of triumph on Ava's eyes as she finally succeeded in dragging him into an argument. "I was thinking you were going to get yourself killed doing something mind-blowingly stupid if nobody stopped you. Which, by the way, you still managed to do anyway."

Ava pushed herself up, indignant, but not angry. She swayed slightly, but Xander either didn't notice or didn't care. "Wouldn't have had to go to such lengths if she," Ava flipped her uninjured hand toward Valora, but didn't take her attention off of Xander, "had kept her Ghost under control." Aiden flared up, his light casting sharp shadows in the growing dark, but Valora pulled him back silently.

"Oh, so this is Valora's fault now?"

Rolling her eyes, Ava sighed. "No. I'm only saying she didn't help the situation any."

Xander stared at her, unable to voice the pent up thoughts all trying to get out of his mouth at once. "She…" He trailed off momentarily, flabbergasted, "She literally saved your life, and you're trying to tell me that- What? What else do you want from her after trying to kill Aiden? Something that you never so much as apologized for, by the way."

Ava's eyes slid momentarily to Valora before she shrugged one shoulder. She wasn't sure how to handle that yet. "That isn't part of this." she said quietly.

Laughing bitterly Xander leaned closer to Ava. "It needs to be. I want an explanation for what you tried to do to her." he hissed through his teeth. "For what you did to Sorcha, too. After everything. Everything!" He was yelling now. "Don't you think I deserve an explanation! A reason? Why didn't you tell me from the beginning? What is wrong with you?!"

She hated the command in his voice. It was like it was in the beginning, Ava realized. She had resented Xander as much as Sorcha had. He had tried to order them around, not realizing that the headstrong Hunters would refuse to oblige out of spite. It was different than the Vanguard giving orders, which they hardly heeded anyway. Someone who was in a way an equal, even perhaps below them with consideration for his history, was not allowed to get away with telling them what to do.

The difference, however, was that while Sorcha had hardened and turned her distrust into hate and paranoia, Ava had softened and tried to coax some personality back into him. Then when she had killed Kindle, and herself along with him, Xander had done nothing. He didn't turn her in. He stayed by her side, but he did so silently like he was waiting for her to fix herself. She needed more than that. She needed what she had given him. What she hadn't given Sorcha either, she realized. And she had done the same thing Sorcha had.

What _was_ wrong with her?

Ava lifted her chin, defiant. "Everything I have become," she started slowly, "you let me become."

Xander stared at her in shock. Completely thrown off by her sudden change in demeanor.

"You did _nothing_ to stop this." She said, voice breaking. "I needed you, and you did _nothing_! You refused to make a choice, good or bad. You just closed your eyes and covered your ears, waiting for the problem to go away on its own. Guess what, it didn't! You let me do this to myself and you did nothing." Ava was crying. She hated him. He should have stopped her. Why didn't he stop her?

"You're blaming me for this?" Xander yelled. "You can't take responsibility for what you did so you're blaming _me_?"

Staring at him, hating him, Ava let the words she was too tired to keep inside her head anymore fall out of her mouth. "I should have let her kill you." Blank and emotionless once again she stared him down and waited for the blow to come. Let him knock her out, or kill her. She didn't care.

For a second Xander did look like he was going to punch her. She didn't even bother pulling her arms up to defend herself. It wouldn't be much of a fight. But he didn't. Instead, he stalked past her wordlessly without touching her. He stomped away. A moment later Ava heard Valora follow him.

Tilting her head back, Ava looked to the stars for help. The constellations blurred in her tear-filled vision, turning into points of light reaching out for those that surrounded them. This is what she had done to Sorcha. Let her fight alone because she was distracted with something- _someone_ else. Ava knew she had chosen Xander over Sorcha long before that wretched day in the snow.

She had done this. She deserved this. She needed to stop running. Why was she _always running_?

 **~o~**

Unsure what to say Valora merely followed at a respectful distance as Xander took out his anger and hurt on various innocent trees and rocks. She was relieved that he hadn't hit Ava. Not that she didn't deserve it, but Valora was sure taking a punch from Xander probably would have killed her. Again. Xander knew that too, which was why he was now kicking the crap out of a poor, defenseless shrub.

"She didn't mean it." Valora reassured him quietly during a lull in his cursing the foliage.

"Which part?" He growled back. He didn't turn to face her, but he did stop kicking things. "Huh? Which part, exactly, do you think she didn't mean?"

"Um," Valora watched him uncertainly, "whichever part upset you the most?" She finally offered.

Xander turned his head to look at her, no indication that he was going to lighten up anytime soon. Valora was currently the most positive person here- aside from Aiden- and she found it a little strange.

"She blamed _me_ for everything she did." Xander snapped. "She can't be so delusional that she really believes she isn't at fault for any of it."

Suddenly finding herself the mediator Valora glanced at Aiden. The Ghost bobbed in a reassuring affirmative. "She knows what she did, Xander, she was right that you should have had this fight a long time ago. But right now you need to say this to her. Not yell. _Say._ "

Pausing in his assault against local flora, Xander turned to lean against a rock. "I know. I know I need to talk to her, but this is such a mess. She's so- I don't know what to do with her. What am I supposed to do with this now?"

"If you don't know," Aiden cut in, "how do you expect her to?"

"Expect her to what?" Valora asked, confused.

Aiden turned to her, flashing light into her eyes. She squinted at him and he dimmed slightly in response but offered no apology. "Expect her to know what to do with her."

"Well, clearly she doesn't." Valora mumbled, before remembering that she was supposed to be helping this situation. "Why didn't you take a firmer stance?" she asked tentatively. Ava had mentioned that he didn't really take much of a side, and Valora had observed as much before.

Xander shrugged. "Last time I did I made a mistake."

"Your old team?"

"Two of them died, and the rest of us don't talk anymore. We-" he cut off with a sigh and a shake of his head. "That was a mess, too. I guess I should have switched my strategies up a bit."

"Maybe a little bit."

Both Valora and Xander looked up in surprise to see Ava leaning heavily against a tree. Her cloak was wrapped around her shoulders like a blanket and her face was pale in Aiden's light. They hadn't heard her approach.

Xander stood up straight, but didn't move toward her at all. She met his eyes calmly this time and they seemed to have a silent conversation. Then, slowly, Ava turned to Valora.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft, contrite. "I know that won't ever make up for what I did, but I really am sorry. I panicked, but you aren't Sorcha and I had no right to be so mean to you from the beginning. To-" she exhaled shakily, then continued quieter, "You didn't deserve any of this."

Valora nodded shallowly. Aiden was elated. His light flashed through the trees as he threw himself at Ava's chest. He nearly knocked her over before buzzing around both her and the slim tree she rested against before finally settling on her head. "It's okay!" Aiden claimed. "See now we can all be friends! We can go kick some Vex ass like a team!"

Ava smiled sadly, looking up through her hair at the Ghost on her head before meeting Valora's eyes. There was a question there. Valora nodded and the two understood each other. Things between them weren't entirely okay yet, but they could be eventually, if they wanted it to be, if they tried.

Aiden flopped off Ava's head and returned to Valora when Ava looked back at Xander. She seemed unsure what to say and hesitated, but Xander didn't. He took two long strides and wrapped her up in a bear hug.

"I don't wish you were dead." Valora heard Ava say from where she had practically disappeared in Xander's arms. He merely patted her back silently.

Feeling awkward Valora made to sneak away, but Xander caught her arm and pulled her into the embrace as well. She tensed at first, but returned the hug when Aiden squirmed his way into the middle and both Xander and Ava laughed.

Valora was the first to break away, followed by Ava, who stepped back and announced that she was starving.

Xander gently took her arm and started back toward where they had essentially made camp. "Come on. We saved you some rabbit."

He waved Valora forward with them, but she let them walk in front of her. It was too easy. Not that she thought Ava's apology had been insincere, but it was… incomplete. There was something Ava wasn't saying, some reason she had wanted to seek out this brittle cease fire.

It was only after they had eaten and Ava had sprawled across the ground and fallen asleep that Valora decided to voice her concerns to Xander. It was fully dark now, almost oppressively so with the heavy cloud cover.

Before drifting off Ava had informed them quietly that their time-frame was off. At Aiden's indignation she had merely explained that it was probably a result of the scrambled sensors, and quite frankly senses, that the time travel had caused. She had almost said something else, but shrugged it off and sank into the forest floor instead.

Xander watched her do so silently. He had noticed her pause too, but didn't say anything either. Valora was about to speak when Xander beat her to it. "She only sleeps like this out here."

Valora could only see either of them as a shadow against the deeper blackness of the night, but she knew what he meant. Ava had discarded basically all of her armor - including her boots- and lay in her black shirt and leggings on her back. The arm of her injured hand was arced above her head, and the limb itself was tucked all too casually under her hair. Her other hand was at her side, her fingers tangled in the grass and pine needles. Her gun sat next to that hand within easy reach. Valora was sure there were a few knives still on her somewhere. Despite that little detail, her position was completely relaxed and open. It was clear by his tone that not even Xander had seen her this unguarded very often.

"Not in the Tower, not in her ship, not anywhere else but out in the middle of nowhere does she sleep like this. As much as she trusted Sorcha, however much she trusts me, she trusts this even more." He seemed to be speaking more to the darkness, or the trees, or the crickets, than he was to Valora. "She always will, I think."

"Isn't that what Hunters do?" Valora asked tersely. Xander shrugged. She could hear the rustle of his armor in the dark. "Was Sorcha like this?"

"Almost." Xander muttered. He seemed to tense up at Sorcha's name. "She loved it too."

"But?"

"But Ava, she believes in it more than anything. Believes in it to talk to her, to protect her. The wild is what she had first, and what she'll listen to above anything or anyone else. So far she hasn't been wrong about it, either."

"What she had first." Valora repeated quietly to herself.

"She was out here a long time before she ever made it to the Tower. Some of it was luck, some of it was spite and pure determination. She had the means to make it to the Tower long before she decided to actually leave Venus, then she spent a while out in Old Russia before being basically driven to civilization."

"You make it sound like she hates other people."

"Not hate. She was just better at reading the wild than anything else. Couldn't really bring herself to trust anything else like this. Of course, she was more trusting before Sorcha-" He broke off. Valora heard him shrug again.

It was difficult for him, she could imagine, to face the reason Ava had killed Sorcha's Ghost. Not because he didn't trust her memory of the events, which Greer had substantiated, but because he knew she had protected him- picked him. And that she had never told him, either.

"Why?" He whispered a moment later, echoing Valora's thoughts. "Why did she never tell me? Was she… afraid I wouldn't understand?"

"No." Greer's robotic voice intoned from somewhere near Ava. "She was afraid you would."

Xander didn't say anything else. He probably wasn't sure what to say. Valora simply patted his shoulder and closed her eyes. He would be up all night. She might as well follow Ava's lead and get some sleep. In her own exhaustion she forgot to mention what she thought Ava was continuing to hide from them.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 _ ***awkward wave* so... I'm a teeny tiny bit late... But! I showed up eventually, so there's that...**_

 ** _All of my children are a mess, as you can see, except Aiden. Aiden is perfect. Don't worry, its about to get messy again!_**

 ** _Amberstar- I completely support eating ice cream... Aiden will probably have more ice cream when this is over. After the next chapter he will deserve it ;)_**

 ** _Daydreamer- Hopefully a group hug will suffice for now. Valora needs more of those tbh. She has no time for anybody's emotional shit. She's just here to save lives and get paid... As for Aiden... well he's about to have a rough go of it starting next chapter (MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA)_**

 ** _Jayfeatther- More wibbly-wobbly is still to come! I've barely been keeping up with everything school related (I graduate in a week !) and am woefully behind on basically everything else! I haven't even had much time to freak over all the new Destiny stuff! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA there's so much going on I DON'T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE IT BC IT IS SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO PUT ACADEMICS ON HOLD FOR A VIDEO GAME AND FANFIC FOR SAID VIDEO GAMES! I've watched you update things that I can't read for WEEKS now. I'll have to catch up :/_**

 ** _Igglytots- Of course, I couldn't kill Ava because then who would come up with absolutely horrible ideas to put them all in mortal danger?! As fr updating so very, very, very late, well you can blame my impending graduation/doom because that's really the only excuse I have..._**


	18. Chapter 18

Xander didn't sleep. He stayed awake and stared at the place where Ava was laying, cloaked by the dark. He couldn't take his eyes off her, especially here in her element. He wasn't even entirely sure she was still there, but he hadn't heard her move and hoped he hadn't missed it if she had.

This was all wrong. She was wrong. Ava's apology had come too quick after her cold accusation. She had either completely snapped, or she was trying to play him. He knew it was most likely the latter, and that infuriated him. What made it worse is that he had so quickly forgiven her against his better judgement.

 _Why do you let her do this to you?_ Miles asked cooly, judgmentally.

Xander didn't answer his Ghost directly, but they both knew. Ava just looked so damn frail and small since that day in the snow. He couldn't unsee the anguish in her eyes as she ran her fingers over Kindle's trashed shell, and the blank way she pressed that shell into his hands and quietly begged for help with promises of an explanation that never came.

He remembered her grin the day she had finally gotten him to spill about his past. She had been dancing around him, poking him in the ribs, and addressing 'The Stick Up Xander's Ass'. Everytime he would swat at her hand or attempt to grab her arm she slid just out of his reach until he was red in the face. All the while she had just kept saying things like, "Who put you up there, Stick?" and "Has he seen a doctor to have you removed? Are you up too far, or does he just like having you around?".

When he had finally caught her wrists, she surprised him by leaning in and pressing her ear against his chest and whispering, "You do have a heart, Tin Man. Who broke it?"

He wanted that smile back, that softness. He wanted her to _care_ about something again. An old saying said time would heal, but Ava seemed only to have drifted further away from him, and too scared to have a negative impact he decided instead to have none at all.

Ava had been right. Valora had been right, as little as she knew them. Xander was both resentful and guilty. It wasn't his job to fix her, but it hadn't been her's to try to fix him either.

 _You weren't hurting anybody._ Niles reminded him flatly. _In fact, I think she broke you more than anything. She dragged you into her world of recklessness._

 _She wasn't always this bad._

 _You let her get worse._

That was true. Before her recklessness was born of confidence, supported by trust and communication. Ava and Sorcha were in every plan together, and when Xander showed up they teased him, but never forced his participation in anything he was uncomfortable with.

Now she was a loose cannon, throwing herself, and anybody foolish enough to hold onto her, into danger without a thought. She wasn't confident in her ability to face anything; she was looking for a fight she wouldn't win.

And she had let both Xander and Valora follow her into it. No, she had been trying to shake him off for a long time now. Her path of self destruction was a way of forcing him to make a decision: either let her go, or stop her. Greer had said as much. Ava had never given him an explanation because she didn't want him to excuse her behavior, but he had anyway.

 _She broke herself trying to save someone too far gone. Don't make the same mistake_. Miles was right. Miles was _always_ right. Next to Xander's side, Valora shifted positions in her sleep.

Here he was in nearly the same position Ava had been. He had to make a different choice.

 **~o~**

Morning came without incident. Valora awoke to find Xander still completely alert, his eyes locked on Ava. She knew he had the same misgivings about Ava's apology that she had had the night before. There was something that the Hunter wasn't saying, something that would screw up the ideal outcome.

The ideal outcome was that the remaining hours until they no longer existed two places at once and could call their ships and return to the Tower without causing some sort of paradox would pass without incident. Ava would be tried, and with what they saw of Sorcha's death and everything else since this damned mission started, she would get help. That was what that girl needed. Professional help.

But whatever Ava wasn't saying was bound to mess things up and drag them through hell before this was over. She knew it, too, and didn't even seem to care.

Ava was awake, staring blankly up at the canopy in the same position she had fallen asleep in the night before. There was no expression on her pale face.

 _Just a shell._ Valora thought as she stretched, crunching pine cones and leaves underneath her when she moved.

Ava didn't react to the noise.

It wasn't until Xander wandered off around mid morning that Valora finally spoke to Ava. "What was that last night?"

Ava appeared not to have heard her.

"You baited him into a fight, momentarily snapped, then turned right around and apologised. Why?" Valora spoke harshly, trying to order away the vacant expression on Ava's face.

The look didn't dissipate, but Ava's eyes slid to Valora for a mere second before returning to the leaves and pine needles above her. "He's got to blow off a little steam before he explodes completely."

"What?"

"He can't hate me yet. He can hate me when this is over, but we have to get there first."

The way Ava spoke in circles and half riddles had Valora groaning. Her eyes were glassy as she distantly watched the tree branches sway above her. Valora wondered where her head was at because it certainly wasn't on her shoulders anymore.

 _She's going to need a whole boatload of help._ Valora thought bitterly.

"Help is an intangible noun. How would you measure out a boatload of something intangible? What kind of boat?" Aiden asked outloud. He was buzzing around the general area scanning rocks.

Valora glanced at Ava before shrugging at her impulse control lacking Ghost. If Ava heard she remained unmoved. _Whatever kind of boat it is, it's a big one._

 **~o~**

The image of a toy boat drifting down a flooded street danced through Ava's mind. It was an old memory, one full of laughter and a complete obliviousness to the danger such heavy rain really was. She was a child.

It was strange, even in Ava's half conscious, dreamy state, to her that she had once been a child. Now that she had these memories they were so distant, almost like a dream that's almost real in sleep, but doesn't quite make sense once awake.

The memory faded away, and Ava tried to throw her scattered focus in another direction. She wasn't looking for the past, she was looking for the future. The past was easy. Memories set in stone, things that had already happened and couldn't be changed were easier to see. But the future, that was a tangled web of possibilities. She picked through the threads, letting the outcomes flash through her mind before deeming them too low risk to bother trying to retain the knowledge. Not important enough to risk what was left of her sanity.

Her sanity. That was what had made her sick at the Tower in the days after walking through those gates. She fought it too hard, her falling into this world she shouldn't have been a part of, into the knowledge she shouldn't have and her human brain and body couldn't handle. But hadn't she already been falling? Dying had been the last push, and not dying like it was semi-normal for a Guardian to die. The real kind.

Ava had liked that peace. The settling finality of a death that was real before she was dragged away from it by Valora.

 _You are a dead thing._ A voice whispered, echoing through her skull. _You have always been a dead thing._ It was her voice, and It's, and Sorcha's.

Sorcha.

Her mind brought her back to the first time she had met the half dead blonde somewhere in the wastes of Mars. Being revived on Mars, especially then, was a death sentence. Ava finding the other Huntress had honestly been pure luck. At least, that was what both of them had thought it was: luck.

Ava had _chosen_ to spend time alone before going to the Tower. She had _chosen_ to come to terms with what she had become on her own before seeking out a community of Guardians similar to her. Sorcha's solitude was an involuntary struggle to survive on her own, and perhaps it had made her bitter.

The memories faded to possibilities. Images of Sorcha post Kindle, sneering and angry, played through Ava's mind. Nearly all of them were too fast to get anything more than a soon forgotten glimpse of, but one stalled and flashed as if it were a warning.

She felt it through the ground before she even opened her eyes. Somebody was coming, and Ava could still recognize those steps.

"Aiden."

Valora narrowed her eyes at Ava as she sat up and repeated the first thing she had said in hours. "What about him?"

Aiden, who had been drifting around the lower branches above Valora's head, practically threw himself at Ava's chest. Valora reached out to stop him, only for a flash of blue to throw him further away from her reach. The Warlock shrieked, curling around her arm as it went limp.

Ava lunged after Aiden, ignoring the whine of Sorcha's gun as it prepared another shot. She scooped the motionless Ghost up in her hand and slid behind a tree. Behind her Valora was swearing colorfully, and Xander's handcannon fired.

Dropping Aiden onto her lap, Ava ran her fingers over his shell. A complicated criss crossing pattern was burned black into his orange shell. It was still warm. "Please don't be dead." she muttered. She didn't think he was dead, just stunned, but his stillness unnerved her nonetheless.

Xander stopped shooting, presumably to reload, and the Sorcha's footsteps inched closer. Was Valora okay? Ava peered around her cover, she caught a glimpse of both Xander and Valora safely behind a group of closely grouped, adolescent pine trees. They weren't exactly well hidden, but none of Sorcha's weapons could effectively make it through the clustered, pine needle heavy branches. At least, as far as Ava knew.

The whine of Sorcha's gun had Ava flinching back. The tree she was crouched behind was barely wide enough to protect her from the view of someone standing on the exact opposite side. As Sorcha moved around she would quickly lose cover.

She wasn't wearing any armor, her gun was still sitting in the grass where she had been sleeping, and none of the three knives she still had on her could pass as effective throwing knives. She had no long range weapons. Unless Sorcha got close enough to touch, Ava was basically defenseless. Being in possession of Aiden basically guaranteed Sorcha would have to come close if she wanted him, but after seeing what her gun did to Valora's arm with barely a graze, Ava didn't like her chances.

Unless Xander could hit her, or Valora recovered enough use of her arm to be useful, there was absolutely no way for Ava to keep Aiden out of Sorcha's hands.

 _I could just give him to her._ Ava thought coldly. It was, after all, the best option she had. So what if Valora hated her forever? Couldn't be any worse than it had been previously. Her apology earlier didn't have to mean anything; she didn't want the Warlocks forgiveness anyway. She was in this deep already. What was she really risking?

Sorcha was nearly in position to take another shot at her. Ava reeled her arm back and threw Aiden as far toward the openness at the edge of the trees as she could.

Valora screamed as she watched Aiden fly through the trees and Sorcha run after him desperately. Ava blocked the sound out and dashed for her gun. As she dropped onto one knee and brought the gun to her shoulder Valora started running. "Xander." Ava barked out, her cheek against the side of her gun, her focus on Sorcha's figure in her crosshairs. She ignored the slight scuffle, and Valora screaming at Xander to let her go.

There was a reason Ava loved this gun, a reason she had made the fairly one-sided deal she had with a faction she didn't believe in to get it back. The scope. As far as autorifles went it had a glorious range, and was beautifully accurate for it, too. The closer Sorcha got to where Aiden had landed at the edge of the treeline, the closer she got to open space. Ava found the back of her unprotected neck, and her finger tightened on the trigger. She hesitated.

A burst of gunfire in the distance made Sorcha pause in her pursuit of Aiden. Ava had the chance, but she dropped her gun instead.

"What are you doing?" Valora shrieked. She wrenched her arm out of Xander's surprise-weakened grasp. "She has my Ghost! You let her take my Ghost!"

Ava watched Sorcha scramble back into the trees and disappear in the direction of the gunfire, her arm out to keep Valora from following. "I'm sorry."

Valora grabbed Ava's shoulder and spun her around abruptly. "You're sorry?"

"She was in the building with us. She _will be_ in the building with us."

"Good, then we know where that fucking bitch is. Let's go get my Ghost back." She shoved Ava out of her way roughly and started walking. Reflexively Ava grabbed her arm to pull her back. Valora turned back swiftly with a punch aimed at Ava's face. A punch that Ava dodged almost expectantly, letting go of Valora's arm.

"You can't go after her."

"Like hell I'm not going after her!" Valora started walking again.

"That was me shooting the spider, Valora. I'm here, and she's about to follow me into that building. You guys are about to show up. We can't mess with any of that. She was in there. She was the reason it went down like it did. We _can't_ change that."

Whirling around Valora shoved Ava back a couple steps. "Can't? Is that really why you didn't shoot her? Because you couldn't?"

"Valora." Xander warned gently trying to get between them.

Valora shoved Ava back another couple steps. Ava let her. "You didn't pull the trigger because you didn't want to," she hissed.

Ava shrugged her admission. "Doesn't make what I just said any less true. We know where that mess of Vex she was tethered to show up. As soon as you two land and enter the building we can take the ships and get a head start. We'll get him back, Valora. I promise you that he is safe." Staring evenly into Valora's glare was nearly impossible, but Ava met the Warlock's eyes and stood her ground. There was something new there now. The pale pink gaze Ava was accustomed to was replaced completely with deadly fire. There was indeed a beast within this restrained, logical Warlock, and Ava had just unleashed it entirely. "Killing another Guardian doesn't seem so unspeakable now, does it?" Ava asked her quietly.

A clench of her teeth was Valora's only response.

"We both know you're thinking it, Valora, but we also both know you're better than me."

Valora considered it for another second before shoving Ava one last time, this time with enough force to knock her to the ground, then she stormed away in the opposite direction Sorcha had taken her Ghost.

Without any expression Ava brushed dirt off her clothes and stood. Xander was still there. He seemed to be in shock. "Did you know? Did you let this happen?"

She knew he was referring to Sorcha taking Aiden. A part of her might have. The information had been there, but Ava hadn't been aware of it until it was too late. As far as _letting_ Sorcha take Aiden, she might have thought about it briefly, but she had every intention of taking Sorcha out before she touched the Ghost. If she hadn't hesitated-If she hadn't hesitated she could have caused a paradox.

Just keep moving forward, she reminded herself.

Ava shook her head in answer to his question.

Xander nodded, more to himself than her. "Okay, then we can still figure this out. We go, we get Valora's Ghost back, return to the Tower. Easy."

"Xander-" Ava started softly, trying to cut him off before he built up his hopes too high.

"I know you're scared." He interrupted. "But we can figure it out. You didn't murder Kindle, it was self defense-"

"Xander." She wanted him to stop talking. To stop believing in her wholeheartedly. To give his loyalty to someone else because she didn't deserve it.

"-lashing out at Aiden and the lying isn't ideal, but I think if we get you some help, maybe a rest, then it won't be too bad-" he was rambling now.

"Xander."

"No, hey, Little Finch." he tried to grab her shoulders and make her look at the confident look on his face, but Ava shook him off.

"Ask me how I got the gun, Xander." She commanded without meeting his eyes.

He blinked at her in confusion before realization dawned. Then his hopeful expression fell into shock, and slowly turned to anger. "No. No! You didn't- Ava, how could you?"

Tears burned Ava's eyes. This was it. This was the breaking point, and she couldn't ever go back from this. "I needed a gun." She said evenly, forcing her expression to remain blank and uncaring. No more excuses. No more running.

"A gun? No, you mean you needed a backup plan."

"I was desperate." It wasn't a denial.

"You could have gotten a gun almost anywhere. You knew what you were agreeing to. You needed a way out, and you took it without even considering the damage you could be doing. You put the Vanguard in a corner, and you did it all to get yourself out of trouble!"

She wanted to tell him that she hadn't had many options. That she had to get back out here. That her involvement would make or break this mission. She would have loved to just go to bed and let this be someone else's problem, but she _knew_ it didn't work like that. Because she was connected at every point. Her decisions had started this, they had continued this, they would end this. But he _might_ have been able to understand that. He _could_ have forgiven her for that.

"You didn't give me another option." She said coldly instead. "If you had just listened to me-"

"It's back to being my fault. It always is, isn't it? My fault. You killed Kindle to protect me. You went off the rails because I didn't stop you. You betrayed the Vanguard because I wouldn't buy into your crazy plan. Nothing is ever your fault, is it?" He shoved her out of the way and followed Valora without waiting for an answer.

Silently, Ava watched him go. She watched the bridge burn and collapse. No going back. She wasn't aware of Greer hovering over her shoulder until her Ghost spoke. "I thought you weren't going to tell him until this was over."

"I just-" Ava sighed, "I couldn't take him looking at me like that."

"Like what?" Greer pressed.

"Like I was still worth saving."

Greer floated a little way off, almost like she was following Xander before she turned back to her Guardian. "They don't trust you."

Ava rolled her eyes. Trust. What had trust ever done for her? "They don't have to for the rest of this. Probably better if they don't. I'm not sure I trust me anymore, anyway."

Slowly Ava gathered her gear. She strapped back on most of her armor, then went to find the others. They would need to start walking toward the ships before Xander and Valora even landed if they wanted to make it in time to leave the second it was possible, and they would need to leave the second it was possible. If she was being honest, Ava couldn't remember why that was so important anymore, but she knew it was.

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _Hello friends! Since I have last updated many things have happened, including my graduation, and I hadn't had a lot of time until recently to do stuff, but now I have a bunch of it for various reasons, and I'm hoping I can actually get a lot done before I'm left scrambling again. I promise you all that I know what I'm doing with this. Bear with me. I did not do this to Aiden lightly. In fact, you can blame my friend for this. We were talking about writing an I mentioned that Aiden was precious and really the only one to escape unscathed and she suggested this because she is evil. And I took the suggestion because I also lack morals..._**

 ** _Daydreamer: No offense taken! Xander, at this point, knows he's being an idiot, which I guess is improvement. Not to mention Ava might have just found something he couldn't forgive. Valora for her part is now completely done with this mess she was dragged into- and only dragged into because of Aiden in the first place so you can bet she's beyond angry. And Ava, well, Ava's crazy and her perception of events is starting to become as iffy as her personality. Don't worry we'll be getting to that soon._**

 ** _This is Sarcasm: yay for having a profile now I'm proud of you *finger guns*_**

 ** _Jayfeatther: AAAA ARCSTRIDER I KNOW!_**


	19. Chapter 19

Tod was a respectable Warlock. He was not one for the mass amounts of chaos that had been heaped upon him the second he set foot in this building with these people. In his very short dealings with them he had had a Titan run off into the jungle, and a Warlock order him around, run through the building yelling, drop herself into a firefight, then shove one of his teammates off a cliff (of course the Sunbreaker was difficult, but he was one of the first few City loyal ones they had and it wasn't well offorded to alienate him). Not to mention what that Hunter did prior to it all. In short, Tod was not well acquainted with this sort of field work, and he didn't ever intend to be.

He was reclined in one of the few chairs he could find in the building that still supported his weight, though it leaned precariously to the left. He was reading a very interesting book detailing the mechanics of some of the more popular Solar powered weaponry. His Ghost, Ghost, provided some recorded sounds of nature as Tod found real nature to be messy and inefficient.

Why any Guardian in their right mind would bother giving their Ghost a ridiculous nickname, Tod did not understand. He simply referred to his Ghost as Ghost and left any other silliness to other Guardians. Mainly that silliness belonged to Hunters, but it was apparent by this mission that insanity could spread rather easily. Perhaps it was not unlike a disease. He should look into that.

Tod was on the verge of putting his book down to write a strongly worded letter to somebody- everybody, really- about this deplorable situation when he heard an unearthly sound. He quickly chided himself for such terminology as he was not, in fact, on Earth. It was, after all, only a loud cracking sound followed by a dull thud, and the accompanying shake of the unstable building.

Owen-416 poked his helmeted head into the room as Tod got to his feet. His Ghost transmatted the book away safely to his ship as he and the Defender Titan looked down the hallway suspiciously.

Another crashing sound echoed through the room behind the metal door. Owen-416 looked at Tod, waiting for an order. Liam was down the hall on the other side of the door. He seemed to glance at Tod, his official commanding officer, before walking toward the door without consulting him further.

Tod and Owen-416 hurried down to meet him as he pulled the heavy door open. Behind it, illuminated by the weak sunlight filtering through rotting boards, was a scene that was utterly, completely, _entirely_ unacceptable.

A broken mess of Vex, most noticeable something that almost looked like a Hydra, took up about half the room. The majority were sparking and stumbling around blindly. Near the edge of the scene stood a Guardian, or at least, that was Tod's first thought. She looked like she had just walked through hell, busted armor, shattered weapons, and when she turned around-

"Damn," Liam muttered, "that girl's got the crazy eyes."

The lights went out. More accurately, the _sun_ went out. In fact, the entire existence of anything outside of Tod himself seemingly ceased to exist.

It was going to be an extensive letter.

 **~o~**

For probably the fifteenth time since they had lifted off, Xander glanced behind him to check on Ava. She was sitting in the back distractedly braiding her hair. Ava loved her hair. It was impractically long enough to reach her waist, and she took good care of it considering how infrequently she joined society. When she was thinking deeply she would play with it. If 'play' could do justice to what her slim fingers could accomplish when she put the time into it. He didn't think she had been calm enough to take joy in her old habit since, well, Sorcha. She used to do Sorcha's hair, too, when they were bored and waiting for something to happen.

 _You're doing it again._ Miles reminded him. _That makes seventeen, by the way._ Xander snapped his attention back to flying his ship. They were heading for Venus after manually overriding their other self's control. Valora was in her ship. Xander was a bit worried about her being alone considering everything that had just happened with Aiden, but the alternatives were either send Ava with her or leave Ava alone and in control of his ship. He wasn't willing to risk either.

Xander's focus drifted back to Ava.

 _Stop doing that._ Miles commanded. _This is your problem, Xander. This is why you can't keep your distance from her. You let yourself think of all the good times, all the good things, but those days are over. She has changed. Let her go. Do you think she remembers any of the little stuff about you? Do you think she still cares at all?_

He looked ahead, intent on not letting himself look back at her again. _I'm sorry, Miles, you're right._

 _Don't be sorry. Be better._

Xander nodded. It was good advice. Just being sorry wasn't going to fix the problem. He had to make a choice. He _had_ made his choice.

"Xander?" He barely heard Ava over his own thoughts. Her voice was quiet, her tone distracted. It probably hadn't been the first time she had tried to get his attention.

Xander almost looked back at her, but Miles bumped into the side of his head. He kept his focus on where he was flying. "What?"

"What did Thing show you?"

" _What?_ " He didn't have the patience for this.

"When we first went into that building you ran into Thing. You saw something, I know you did, but I didn't want to push it then."

"Why are you pushing it now?"

She sighed heavily, dramatically. "Because it might be important."

"Important to what exactly? You say you know what is going to happen, but you can't tell us anything. The best answer you can give is that you don't remember."

She laughed quietly to herself. "You don't remember then, do you?"

"Don't change the subject."

"You changed the subject first."

"Ava-"

With a huff she stopped talking.

Xander breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't thought about it until she mentioned it. He remembered an uneasy feeling upon waking up, but he didn't see anything. She was the one with the crazy hallucinations and voices in her head. She didn't get to try and put that on him now. Not after everything else.

"We just received an SOS from Venus. _Apparently_ Ava was right about where the Vex and Sorcha would go."

"You know we can hear you, Miles." It was Greer who spoke up in Ava's defense. Ava no longer seemed to care or notice the passive aggressive, and even sometimes outright, insults Miles and Valora threw at her. It was a strange shift from her constantly flying off the handle. Waiting for her to snap again made Xander anxious.

"Tell them we're on our way, then contact the Tower. Tell them what happened and what we're about to do." Xander instructed his Ghost as Venus came into view.

"Already on it."

With a glance back at Ava, Xander added "Make a point of them sending backup."

"They won't get there in time." Ava chirped in a singsongy voice.

"Ava, could you please be quiet."

She didn't respond. Xander looked over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were closed and she was busy combing her hair out with her fingers. He noticed she was using her right hand sparingly. He had seen it before when she was handling her gun. Her fingers were stiff, and she occasionally cringed when she moved them.

 _Focus._ Miles reminded him.

 _Right. Yes. Focus. Retrieve Aiden. Return to the Tower. She becomes somebody else's problem. Easy._

 _Easy._ Miles agreed.

 **~o~**

As she set her ship down on Venus, Valora glanced at her helm. It was fixed now. Ava's sat next to it, now broken. The Hunter had handed Valora her helm and simply said, "If it's possible then use this to fix yours, or wear it if you can. I don't care. You need it more than me."

Surprisingly, Xander hadn't said anything to Ava about safety when she did it either. Whatever she had said to him after Valora had stormed away had pissed him off. Valora didn't think she had ever seen him that angry. Not even after their brief fight when he had kicked the shrubbery. This was a different kind of anger, a cold, silent, _done_ kind of anger.

Ava knew, but didn't seem to mind. Either she was confident in her ability to manipulate Xander into forgiving her, or she just didn't care anymore that he was mad at her. That was probably it. She didn't care. She didn't care about anything.

Aiden could _die_. Valora could lose him all because of Ava, and the girl didn't care one bit. She was insane. She had lost it completely. She couldn't even explain herself about any of it.

Valora slammed a fist into her lap and choked back a sob. She was going to lose Aiden. Mac would die on her all over again. She would be alone. All alone.

"No." Valora whispered. She took a deep breath, then repeated herself louder. "No. I am not going to lose Aiden." He was still alive, she could feel it, and that was how he was going to stay: _alive._ Valora climbed out of her ship with her head held high and her jaw set. She wouldn't lose Aiden. She just wouldn't allow it.

From outside the building everything seemed calm. Ava, standing next to Xander, her head slightly tilted and her eyes almost clear, seemed to be waiting for something. She was humming softly. It was a tune that Aiden sang often.

"Let's go." Valora ordered as she shouldered past them.

Before she could get ahead of them Ava reached out a hand and caught her arm. She pulled Valora back a step and slipped in front of her. "Stay behind me. I duck, you duck. Understood?" Narrowing her eyes, Valora made to pass her. Ava stepped in front of her again, it was possible she had moved before Valora did. "Until you have Aiden you are an unnecessary risk. Follow me, I get you to Aiden, then you can do whatever the hell it is you want."

"Ava." Xander warned.

Ava glanced at him briefly before looking back to Valora. "You have a Ghost. I don't care if you die." A brutal dismissal, meaning the feeling was now, apparently, entirely mutual.

"I don't believe anything you say." Valora snapped.

With a huff, Ava rolled her eyes and tossed her head back like she was looking for patience in the hazy atmosphere before she responded condescendingly. "I never asked _you_ to trust me blindly, Valora. Think it through." Ava's eyes met her's again. They were rich and deep and… unfocused. Like she was looking through Valora instead of at her.

She knew, and Valora finally understood _how_ she knew. It had said she was flighty and unfocused. That that was what made her compatable, but she was too small. Ava had the information, but she couldn't hold on to any of it, so she couldn't explain it. The fact that her mind hopped naturally through topics let her see everything she saw without becoming stuck to something specific. She could let the things she couldn't hold go, but still retain a sense of it.

Ava intended to guide Valora unharmed back to her Ghost using those echoes of memory.

"You're insane." Valora breathed, utterly shocked. How could she even possibly expect this to work? She probably didn't. She just jumped, head first, eyes closed.

Ava nodded in agreement. "We need to go now." Then she turned and started walking, her gun dangling casually from her hand. Valora decided to follow her with little hesitation.

"Are you sure about this?" Xander asked. He was at her side, something sturdy and reassuring. She liked that feeling, especially considering the wild unpredictability of the Guardian in front of her.

"Yes." Valora wasn't sure why, but she found she actually trusted Ava. Her apology had been sincere, after all. Missing something, of course, but she had meant what she said about Aiden. So she wouldn't be trustworthy in the long run, but for now, to get Aiden back, Valora trusted her enough to follow her, step for step, into _this_ battle. Perhaps that was her own desperation talking, but she wasn't about to reason herself out of it when it was possible this was her only chance to get her Ghost back.

Ava paused briefly in the doorway before reaching down and picking the hilt of her discarded, burnt out, Arc Edge. It seemed utterly useless, but she slid it into place on her back anyway before leading the way in.

The interior of the building was darker than it should have been considering the ample light outside of it. It wasn't due to the lack of windows. There was something in the air. Dust? Smoke? Valora couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, it didn't appear to be bothering Ava, the only one of them actually breathing it in. However, to be fair, she was already half dead.

Nothing on the ground floor. They moved slowly toward the stairs, guns drawn. Even Ava seemed to actually be paying attention. She got the first kill, a Goblin that came careening down the stairs. Ava watched it fall past her. "Were you running away?" She asked, her voice almost gentle. A shout of pain drew her attention back to the top of the stairs. "Be ready to duck." Less gentle.

Before they even reached the top step, Ava sidestepped in time to miss a bolt from a Line Rifle. Valora followed the movement slightly late. It hit her arm, damaging her armor, but she barely felt it. Aiden was here. She could feel him now. He seemed… groggy, but unharmed.

The second floor was completely, unnaturally, black. Xander's Ghost appeared to light the way, but Ava hissed at him. "They glow. We don't." A burst of automated fire snuffed out one of their 'glows' in a crash of metal to prove her point. She didn't stay still long enough for them to realize where the shot had come from.

Following on the Hunter's heels, Valora nearly ran into her when she stopped suddenly to avoid something sparking and headless stumbling past her.

"I told you she had the crazy eyes!" A voice Valora recognized, but couldn't quite place yelled. "Tod? Tod wh- Hey! Stop try'na stab me you psycho bitch!"

Ava dispatched the sparking thing with a knife and stepped over it, moving toward the voice and the sounds of a scuffle. The Vex weren't legitimately engaging. Most of them were in a sparking frenzy, and whatever blows the other Guardian landed didn't sound like they were on metal to begin with.

"Bag on her right hip." Ava informed her, ducking to avoid something Valora couldn't even see. She did, however, hear it hit Xander behind them. "Stay back," she slammed the hilt of one of her knives into a Goblin before adding, "and a little left."

As the Goblin crashed to the ground, blue light flared. Valora stumbled back surprised to see Ava draw the Arc Edge from wherever, and however, she had concealed it. In one fluid motion she swung the sword over her head and purposefully drove it to her right. Valora didn't think anything was there until she hit metal. Whatever it was shrieked, an echoing, mechanical sound. The darkness receded as blue light pulsed out from the creature, and for a brief moment Valora saw what It was.

It had once been a Hydra. Now it was the pieces of one, and various other Vex creatures, melded into a tangled mass. Whatever Ava had done to it in that building on Earth, was really something exceptional. Amazing what true desperation was capable of.

When the light became too bright for Valora to look at, she returned her attention to Ava in front of her, to find her slamming a fist into Sorcha's nose. The Titan she had been assaulting a second before stumbled back clutching his arm.

Ava punched Sorcha again. She was holding a knife ready in her left hand, her gun on her back now. Blood poured from Sorcha's nose, covering Ava's hand as she pulled it back for another hit. Sorcha finally seemed to catch up. Stepping back she dodged Ava's punch and pulled a pair of knives.

Ava let her put distance between them, but she moved to stay between Sorcha and anybody else in the room. "Give Valora her Ghost back."

"He's not her Ghost."

"Sorcha," Ava spoke distinctly, like she was talking to a child, "Kindle is _dead_. Give Valora back her Ghost."

"No. No! He's not dead. Just lost. I just lost him, but now I finally found him."

Ava was shaking. Was she crying? Valora couldn't tell, her voice was even when she spoke. "That's not Kindle, Sorcha. I killed him. Do you remember that? Do you remember what was wrong with him?"

"There was nothing wrong with him. There _is_ nothing wrong with him!" Sorcha sheathed a knife to pull Aiden out of a small bag secured on her thigh. She held him tight in her fist, his dim light glowing through her fingers was somehow still discernible in the overall brightness of the room.

Valora almost stepped forward, but Ava subtly shifted in front of her again, blocking her view of Aiden. "Don't panic." She muttered. Valora wondered who she was talking to.

Slowly, Ava stretched out her still injured, unarmed, right hand. "Can I see him?"

Sorcha pulled him back, hugging Aiden against her chest. "No!"

"Why, Sorcha?" Ava was inching forward slowly, keeping Sorcha's attention on her outstretched hand. "Is there something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. You're just- I don't trust you."

"Why not? What did I do? Do you remember what I did?"

"I- You-" Her confused expression twisted into a scowl. She lunged toward Ava with the knife still in her left hand, but Ava met her with one step. Calmly, Ava disarmed Sorcha. It seemed too easy for a moment, until Valora remembered that Ava had also been holding a knife.

"I know." Ava whispered. She held Sorcha's gaze as her eyes widened and her legs gave out. She tried to say something, but choked on the blood bubbling up her throat. "Shhh, I know." Gently, Ava pried Aiden from Sorcha's fingers and tossed him over her shoulder without looking, directly at where Valora was standing, slightly to her left.

Aiden was dim, his tone confused. "Heeeyyy, wa's goin on?" Valora hugged him to his chest as she stumbled back into Xander, trying to get as far away from the Hunters in front of her before something awful happened again.

Ava sank to the ground slowly and cradled Sorcha's head on her lap. "I know," she kept repeating softly, "I know."

For a second the entire room was frozen in shock. Not even the few straggling Vex seemed to move, until Xander took a step forward. The light and noise emanating from Thing since Ava had stabbed it suddenly cut off. They were plunged into pitch blackness and unnatural silence.

Nobody moved, or if they did, Valora couldn't hear them. Slowly, light and noise began to seep in through the windows.

"What the fuck was that?" The Titan asked. Valora turned to him to find him standing next to a slightly wobbly Tod.

"Ava," Xander started, "what the- Ava?"

Valora spun back. Sorcha was gone, and Ava was standing in her place alone. The blood on her armor and now streaked across her face was long since dried. Her breathing was labored, her hands shaking, but she met Xander's eyes directly. "Help me, or get out."

 _ **~ASDFGHJKL~**_

 ** _Hey! I'm sorry I just disappeared there for a while, but I think we all know I'm a complete disaster so... yeah... At least I came back! Most of the next chapter is actually done so it shouldn't be very long until I update again. Key word there is "shouldn't"._**

 ** _Jayfeather: Aiden is ALIVE... mayhaps a little injured but we will get to that later. I promise I won't kill you (I also blame all my evil doings on other people *cough* River *cough*)_**

 ** _Daydreamer: I spoke too soon about having time and I jinxed myself :/ Aiden is safeish, but sadly as of yet not a lot more Valora action. Her time is coming now that she has her Ghost back though so do not fret. Our careful Warlock is about to get rather reckless almost purely out of spite. Xander. Poor, conflicted Xander. He seems pretty sure this time, eh? We shall see._**


	20. Chapter 20

_Ava, let go of her._

That voice. She knew that voice, yet it was unfamiliar.

 _Ava, let go of her!_

She couldn't remember. Was that voice in her head, or coming from in front of her? She couldn't tell. She couldn't see. She couldn't feel anything other than Sorcha's body heavy on her lap. Her body.

What had she just done?

 _Ava! Let go!_

Her body because she was truly dead this time.

 _You need to let her go._

Let go. Letting go was easy. Just relax the fingers, step back. Walk away without looking over her shoulder. She could do that. She had done it before. Hadn't she? Maybe she never really did.

 _Ava!_

Relax. Let go. She did, and was immediately greeted by the sensation of being pulled out of a strong current she hadn't noticed she was in. The ground caught her. She spent a second trying to open her eyes before Greer's voice finally registered.

"Ava? Can you hear me?"

A brief flash of light made her realize her eyes were open, the room was just very dark now. Greer was hovering over her.

"Too bright, Greer." Ava hissed, reaching up to grab her Ghost.

Greer moved back out of her reach, her light flickering around the empty room. "I had to make sure you were still breathing."

"No, Greer, no light. It's dark. Be dark."

"Right. Sorry."

Slowly, Ava pushed herself to her feet and reached for her now dark Ghost. This time Greer came to her. She took a shallow, painful breath. "Same place. Different time. Where are you Thing?"

"Here. Always here. You, however, just left."

 _Greer?_ Ava was holding her Ghost against her chest, afraid to let go of her.

 _I believe we are the strange reading I was picking up earlier._

 _You mean, before-_ She didn't even finish the thought. Greer did it for her.

 _Before you attacked Valora? Yes._

Ava started pacing, shaking out her joints. She was trying to control the panic, the urge to run or lash out. There was nowhere to go, and nobody else to hit.

 _Nothing to do. Nothing to do. Nothing to do._ The thought bounced around her head, making her dizzy. _Nothing. Nothing._

 _Breathe._

"Interesting, little flighty thing. What are you going to do about what you are going to do?"

Again, Greer had to remind her to breath. The thought of interfering crossed her mind. It would be so easy to just end it all before it even had a chance to begin. What exactly were the protocols on shooting oneself? Probably less strict than attempted murder of a Ghost. "Nothing I can do."

"Untrue."

"Fine." Ava pulled a new knife from her belt, but only held it clenched in an angry fist. She had left the other in Sorcha's chest.

 _Murderer._

It wasn't Greer's voice that needled into Ava's thoughts. It might have been her own, but she wasn't so sure. She slammed her knife into one of the pillars, chipping some of the concrete and breaking the tip off the blade. "Nothing I _will_ do. Happy now?"

"I am unfamiliar with happiness."

She laughed, then remembered she shouldn't draw any unnecessary attention. Of course, she was about to create one hell of a distraction anyway. Did it really matter? Did anything really matter?

 _Nothing, nothing, nothing-_

 _Ava, breathe._

Her fading focus returned to Thing. "Of course. You're bitter, and ancient. You've never been happy once."

"I am not familiar with bitterness either."

"Yes you are." Ava laughed again, coldly, but this time it sounded wrong to her ears. Almost like it hadn't been her who made the noise. "I know you are because I am, and so was she. We're part of you now. You blame the Golden Age for creating you, but we only woke you up then. I created you. So no excuses. No talking in circles. Just tell me what I need to know, or how to remember it," she paused before grudgingly adding, "without it killing me."

"You have asked me that before."

"Well-" Ava started loudly, then clenched her teeth, reminding herself to stay calm before continuing softer. "What did you tell me then?"

"To give up."

"I hate you."

"You have said that before as well. This conversation is becoming tedious."

Ava paused in her pacing and slumped against a pillar. Not just circles, but a downward spiral this time. "What do you remember? From before you were just a bunch of pieces of somebody else, what do you remember?" Not a relevant question, but that pity and yearn to understand something- someone- entirely different than her it was still there. Somehow it was rooted in her even after countless death.

Thing was quiet for a moment before responding. Perhaps it was a hesitation. "I am not like you."

"Not so different, at least, not anymore. What about this?" Ava gestured vaguely to the darkness around them with her broken knife. "I know you don't create it. You pull it from somewhere. The light too, that blue light. Where does it come from."

"The adjustment of the light is merely tactical."

"It smells different when it's dark. It smells like the caves below the surface. The light is different too, it has a feeling, like the gates. You pull them both from a specific place, a specific time because they _mean_ something to you. I could look if you won't answer."

"You would not waste your energy."

"I'm not known for making the best decisions." Ava snapped back. She waited for a moment in silence before shrugging. "But you're right, I don't need to know that bad." She slid down the pillar to the ground, cradling both Greer and the knife in her lap. "I think you want to help, whether that's the piece of me, or some undamaged part of her, or maybe something in you, there's something good. I don't think you're an evil creature. "

"You do not believe in evil."

It was not a question, but Ava answered it. "Not as a character trait, no."

"And yet you kill anyway."

"Yes." It still hadn't been a question, and yet she felt as if she had to justify her answer somehow. "I don't think one must be inherently evil to do harm. I think it's complicated. I think-" She sighed, then shook her head. It didn't really matter what she thought. Nothing mattered.

 _Nothing nothing nothing nothing-_

"You think a great many things for such a small creature."

"Well, I _know_ you want to help me because you've done it before."

"Give up. There is nothing more to say to you other than that."

"I'm not known for that either." Ava searched the darkness before whispering, "Why do you want to help?"

Surprisingly, an answer came from the darkness quickly. "Because I have seen the world through different eyes, and I find I understand."

Ava nodded briefly before leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She could hear muffled shouting through the door. She needed to distract herself. "Was it all necessary? Almost killing Valora? The cave? Losing my favorite gun in that cave? The gate that did this to my head, and then, apparently, promptly broke? Running in circles? Did any of that really have to happen?"

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. You will never know, and I? I do not care about the specifics of your existence."

"I hate you." She repeated.

"Of course you do. I am you."

 _What do we do now?_ Greer asked silently when Ava made no move to reply, or question Thing further.

 _We give up._ Ava simply sat back and listened to herself make another mistake in a long list. What else was there to do?

 _Nothingnothingnothingnothingnothing-_

"We have a chance here, Ava." Greer said out loud, though quietly, in an attempt to center her Guardian.

Ava stood at the prompting and sheathed her knife. "Right, yes. Forward. Moving forward." That was what was left to do.

"Ava, Sorcha was-"

"I said forward, Greer." Ava grabbed her Ghost and tucked her into her cloak. "I can't go back, okay?

"We're literally standing in the past right now."

"It's not the same thing."

Greer dropped out of the bottom of Ava's cloak and floated up to her eye level. "How?"

"I'm not the same. I _can't_ be the same because I was a disaster. I was-" She paused, then looked away from her Ghost toward the outline of the door. "Nevermind."

"No, finish the sentence."

Ava walked away from Greer, shaking her head.

"You were not a mistake, Guardian." Ava stopped walking abruptly, but still didn't face her Ghost as she insisted "I did not make a mistake."

"Well," Ava continued toward the door without looking back, "I've certainly made enough for both of us."

Greer tried to block Ava's path, but Ava snatched her out of the air and stuffed the Ghost in her hood, from which Greer continued to talk. "Making a mistake does not mean you are one."

"Mistakes. Plural. Many. Repeatedly."

"You're trying to fix them."

"Trying? I just make things worse. I can't seem to ever actually do any good. Does that sound like a Guardian to you? Look at the mess I've made and tell me I am not a mistake."

Greer made no attempt to respond.

"Right. We have work to do. We need to get down into that valley. Something important is there."

"Or was." Greer chimed in, though her tone was subdued.

"Or will be." Ava grabbed the door and began to pull it open, then jumped back away from it when Thing started laughing.

"Ava," Greer whispered in Ava's ear, "they're still out there."

Ava backed away from the door as Thing began speaking.

"This is an interesting turn of events. Now that your little bird has taken flights things have changed."

"Why didn't you warn me?" Ava hissed back to Greer through her teeth, still backing away.

"Sensors must be messed up. Just be quiet."

"I think you really hurt her feelings. There's about a thousand different places she could have gone, but if you ask real nice I can calculate the most likely. Although, it could take a moment. No, wait, I'm done. Come in and we can talk."

Ava spun around to face the darkness. She threw her hands up in the air and mouthed "Are you kidding me?"

A beat later she heard Valora's voice and steps moving down the hall away from the door.

Ava crept back toward the door and peered out. She couldn't see any light in the hallway, but paused for confirmation from Greer before opening the door any further. "Where?"

"The stairs. I think. I can't exactly tell."

"Okay. Window, other end of the hall, and we have to hurry." Ava slid out of the room, then pulled the door almost closed, leaving just a crack.

 _Sure, take the time to close the door. You've already stepped on the butterfly._

"Get out of my head!"

"Ava, who-"

"Nothing." Blue light flashed briefly through Ava's vision as she turned toward the end of the hall. "It's nothing."

As they passed the observation room, Ava glanced inside at the ancient safe still sitting on the desk. Greer chimed in unprompted to and the question Ava didn't ask. "Ikora has the journal now. Wonder what it says."

Pausing, half out the window, Ava reached for her Ghost and pulled her close. "I know what it says. I wrote it. I… wrote it right before wiping all the computers. Actually, It wiped all the computers, I only gave the order. The last one I gave."

"Why aren't they shooting at us?" Greer whispered moments later from Ava's hood as she touched down in the valley.

"Perhaps because they're too busy shooting them?" Ava gestured vaguely at the building above them with her gun.

"Then," Greer floated out of Ava's cloak and tapped her gun, pointing it at the ground, "we should keep them more interesting than us."

Sighing, Ava slung the gun to her back. "What was the point of getting a gun back if I never get to use it?"

Greer drifted back the cover of her Guardian's cloak. "It was never really about the gun."

"Don't remind me."

"Are you really going to do it?"

"If I make it that far, yeah."

"Ava-"

"Hush now or you'll blow my cover. Keep an eye on the fighting above us. Let me know when they start pulling back."

"Sensors are still-"

"Just do your best." She pulled her hood further over her face, breathing in the smell of the worn material. The cloak was solidly black, torn and worn through in some places. It was the oldest one she owned, older than she was. She had taken it off a Hunter- whose name she never learned- long before she saw the Traveler with her own eyes. It smelled like the wilds, it smelled like home.

She could do this.

 _Murderer._

Running her fingers along the hilt of her last, unbroken knife, Ava ducked into a building to avoid a group of passing Goblins. One of them paused in front of the empty doorway for a brief moment. A sudden suspicion swept through her mind, she countered it reflexively with a thought of security. The Goblin moved on with the others.

Greer didn't say anything as Ava stepped back through the door and continued toward the end of the valley. Most of the research on Thing was done in the building Thing resided in, but Thing was not the only subject of investigation. Labs had been built around Vex gates, tunnels had been dug deep under the surface into the cave system below. Since she had deleted all the information from the main systems, she would have to go deeper to get what she needed.

In her effort to make sure nobody else repeated their mistakes, she had made it nearly impossible for anybody to fix them. Short sighted and rash. She had always been short sighted and rash.

The Vex, though they seemed not to care that she talked to Thing, would not just let her dig into something they were obviously protecting. They had even gone so far as to chase down the loose end that was Maria and her Ghost. Too bad Ava and Xander had gotten there before they destroyed the Ghost.

 _Xander._ Sorcha's voice mused. _What will you do to him in the end, murderer?_

Ava ignored that thought, ignored the flash of Xander's body bent, broken, and in a pool of blood. It was not real. The voice was not real. Sorcha was dead.

And she had to keep moving.

The Vex hardly seemed to notice her, in part because of Ava's stealth, but also because of the connection she had forged when she had plunged her blade into that Hydra. The same reason Sorcha wasn't dead, not really. In death and desperation she had tied herself, Sorcha and Thing together. Through Thing she found the door and pried it open just a crack, and now she would use it.

 _Careful._ Greer's voice through her thoughts, warm, reassuring, and _real_. So Ava took a deep breath, reminded herself that she was still standing. Still here. That was something. Good or bad, she didn't know, couldn't remember, but it was something.

It was a game, she decided, sliding through the streets in the spare seconds allotted to her behind the backs of various patrols. All the while she kept up a steady thought of security, letting the thought drift beyond her quietly. It was barely a ripple, she knew, but as long as she gave no reason to doubt the hazy feeling of it, barely was enough. Her aim was a small, outpost like building awkwardly situated against the jungle. It was a maintenance building, housing various electrical components and possibly a broom or two, but it had an inlet into the main informational system.

There was buried the information that her past self purposefully never learned. What Thing knew but would never tell, not even to the Vex who feared what Thing had become. They had buried it here, and the Vex had found it, now sought to protect it… from her. The only thing Ava did not know because the possibilities were to vast: when and where.

Her focus was slipping as she counted the seconds between movements to find the patterns in the seemingly random patrols. And then sliding through the cracks while broadcasting the faint signal that nothing was amiss.

Until she was crouched in the underbrush that had moved in to claim the back side of her target building beneath a high, narrow window. She listened to the whir of the Harpies as they passed, finding the exact four seconds of time she had behind one group before the next turned the corner. She pulled Greer from her cloak and gave one of her spines a loving pat before holding her aloft. Greer drifted out of the leaves and through the broken glass. Ava held her breath, hoping the room would be empty and her Ghost would not be seen.

The silence between the stretched too long. Ava heard the hum of the next group of Harpies approach and had to smother her rising panic.

 _Nothing is wrong. Nothing is wrong. Nothing is wrong._ She repeated to herself over and over again, until Greer's voice broke through her own thoughts.

 _There's no way you're getting in here. They've got all the doors covered and will notice anything bigger than a Ghost coming in through the windows. If you fit through the window at all._

 _Start._

Greer blipped in acknowledgement and fell quiet as she began assessing where to begin. Ava leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes. A buzzing was starting to fill her head, and she wanted to sleep.

 **~O~**

" _What are you doing?"_

 _She looked up from the screen, not even trying to school her scowl into something more akin to innocence. "Nothing to worry about."_

 _He came around the desk and she shifted the screen with her around the opposite side. "You've already sabotaged the experiment, and now you're sabotaging the research!"_

" _I'm sabotaging an invasion plan." She snapped back, watching as It's virus swept through the information stored across the facility. When it was done it would leave nothing but a string of nonsense to distract whoever they would send next. Because she knew that they would just keep sending people. This was too important a discovery to leave alone, no matter how big a threat to lives it posed._

 _She wasn't the first to try. She realized that now. They hadn't been the first, but she would be damned if they weren't the last._

 _He snatched at the screen and, knowing there was nothing he could do at this point, she let him grab it this time. "You'll ruin your career. You'll ruin all of our careers, our lives!"_

" _Better than losing them completely." she responded evenly._

" _I will not go through this again!"_

" _Again?" Suddenly it all made sense to her. He hadn't been surprised by any development, been undisturbed by any loss of life because he had been through this before. How many times?_

 _He must have seen the realization dawn on her face for he nodded smugly. "But maybe next time they'll actually put me in charge."_

" _There won't be a next time." She grinned, sudden euphoria bursting out of her in pure defiance, replacing the panic from the hours before. She could still taste blood on her lips. "Because by the time whatever it was that was trying to come through that gate finally makes it out only the dead will see it." She said it with all the confidence she lacked. Let him believe it. None of them would be there to see if she was wrong._

 _There had been hope in It's tone, though it took her almost too long to realize, when It spoke of the dead. That question that was seemingly nonsense was in fact the answer to everything._

 _Why are the dead walking?_

 _To protect the living._

 _So she passed it off to them, not as a death sentence, but a plea, a challenge. And she prayed, to the Traveler, to whatever old gods might still listen, to the will of the universe, to_ anything _. She prayed that somebody would be able to finish what she could not._

 **~O~**

 _Ava?_

At the sound of Greer's voice Ava lifted her head and tracked the progress of the Vex outside her sanctuary of foliage. _What?_

 _Were you asleep?_

 _Me? No._

 _I've been saying your name repeatedly for a solid minute._

 _I would never sleep on the job. I'm always alert and prepared for action._ Of course, her gun was still on her back, pressed against the wall, and her hands were shaking.

 _Yeah, sure. I fear this may be our worst case scenario._

Already sliding from her hiding place into the thicker shelter of the jungle, Ava sighed. _Days, then?_

 _Do you even know what Thing did to all this information? You must have had an idea considering your opening line in the journal._

 _I can't stay here for much longer, let alone days._ She had known when they came down here she wouldn't be able to stay. She should have left as soon as Greer was safely inside the little outpost. The Vex were drawing back from the building now. She would have to loop around the long way through the jungle.

 _What are you thinking?_ Greer knew exactly what Ava was thinking. She knew Ava was already on her way back to Thing.

 _I'll have to go back. Give you time to find what we need._

 _Ava you will not make it long on your own._

 _For me it will only be a few minutes. I'm more worried about you._

 _I don't like this._

 _Your feelings on the matter are noted. I'll see you in a few._

 _Keep your head down._

Ava, already trekking through the trees didn't answer. There were too many conflicting voices in her head for her to focus on one. Her nose was bleeding. She wiped her face with her hands, smearing blood along her armor. And she stumbled over a root. And she was walking in circles. And she couldn't remember where she was supposed to be going. And the ground was cold. And-

And there was Xander's voice, distant like a dream. "She's still there, isn't she? Still on that field crying over a dead Ghost."

Ava nearly thought she made it up, but then came Miles' reply.

"Yes. She might always be."

Smiling, Ava decided that was probably the nicest thing Miles had ever said about her. Why the Ghost had hated her so much from the beginning she didn't understand. Why he hated her now was completely justified, but when they first met? Maybe he had known. Maybe she had done Xander an injustice befriending him in the first place.

Something else snagged her attention as Ava watched dumbly after the distant shape of Xander shouldering through the jungle. It wasn't anything specific, just a feeling, a memory of a movement. She withdrew, crouching into the underbrush while looking for the signs she knew Xander wouldn't notice. He was being tailed, and not just by one Hunter.

The fact that the Vanguard had sent the elite team after her evoked a brief feeling of pride. Although, she had won Invective off the leader. Of course, it was a knockoff, but it amused Ava to wonder what she had thought when she found it wrecked.

Or would find it?

Confusion reminded Ava of her mission. Once she was sure the team was far enough away, she picked up her pace.

Aiden's voice let her know she was getting close. "Finally something fun!"

Valora said something quietly to him, then Ava heard him begin to protest. Ava caught sight of her through the trees as Valora brushed off her robes and walked into the building. Aiden was thankfully out of sight.

Greer's voice echoed through Ava's head. She couldn't tell if it was her trying to get in touch now, or something she had already said. Either way, Ava ignored it. There was too much noise in her head to focus.

She took a step, her feet sliding on the mossy ground. Ava looked down, and smiled. The ground. It was so close. Just under her feet. She had been too hasty calling it cold. Cold was okay. She liked the cold ground. She wanted to sit, just for a minute. Maybe she would just rest her eyes, sleep for a little while.

Maybe she was already asleep. If she was asleep then everything not making any sense would start to make sense. That had to be why everything felt so fuzzy, so far away.

 _Wake up. Wake up!_

Why couldn't she wake up? She wanted to, dammit! It made her angry. The jungle came back in sharp focus. Ava could feel her heart beating in her chest. Lightning flashed along her fingertips. Anger gave her an edge, but she started to lose it as quickly as it came. She needed sustainable anger. One enemy, one goal.

The Vex had done this to her head. They were the reason she was forced to face Sorcha again after all these years. She had been fine before the past, present, and future started blurring together in her head until she couldn't tell the difference. They were the reason she had lost- would lose- was losing everything she had left.

She wanted to crush them to nothing with her bare hands, and that started with getting back in the building in front of her. So, Ava didn't think, she just moved.

The hall was empty as she walked through it. The stairs were just as devoid as life. She hadn't checked, hadn't cared to check until she reached her hand toward the metal door of Thing's room. It was already open, and Valora was standing in front of the door, her back to Ava she was talking to Thing.

Pausing, her arm still outstretched, Ava stared at the Valora's back. She recognized the scout rifle secured there. Tlaloc. Ava didn't know a lot about it, but she knew enough to realize that Valora had worked for that gun. Because Valora followed the rules, and she finished what she started.

 _She thinks she's better than you._ Sorcha's voice said, surfacing through the rest of the noise. _Everybody knows she's better than you. Xander does. Didn't you see? He chose her. He chose her because she's better. But you could fix that. Just one little stab. Just like you did to me. You could-_

Ava nearly slammed the door shut, only realizing at the last second that she shouldn't even be there, and that the door wasn't closed when she came up the stairs. But it was closed now, and Ava heard Valora lean against it, so she walked down the hall and closed herself in the observation room.

Choosing anger had been a mistake. Anger was Sorcha, and Ava couldn't control it- her. She had to find something else to keep her going. She had to _want_ to keep going. Half listening to Valora's conversation with Thing in the other room, Ava tried to find a reason to want to finish what she had started. The reason that would take her into the next room once Valora left and find a way to go forward to where she had left off.

Because there had to be at least one reason, right?

 **~O~**

The other fireteam left almost immediately after Ava's Sunbreaker, was the only one of them to hesitate, but Tod shook his head and pulled him out of the room. Valora was sure she heard Tod muttering something about this mess being above his pay grade. She had to agree with that.

Now it was back to being just them, and the way Xander was yelling at Ava, Valora knew the number was about to drop in some way. She hoped not in the worst way, but was staying out of it by giving all her attention to Aiden.

"I'm really okay." He repeated once again when Valora ran her eyes over the burn pattern in his shell. It looked like he had been caught in a net made of fire, which was just about what happened. Too bad she didn't get a chance to examine the weapon Sorcha had been carrying before she disappeared. Where had she gone?

"Just a little electrical overload. All side effects temporary." He tried to reassure her. When she didn't stop staring at the damage he tapped her helm with one of his spines. "We can get a new shell, it's okay."

Valora shook her head.

"He wouldn't mind. This thing is old anyway."

She shook her head again. "No, I can fix it somehow."

"Val, it's been a long time. He would have changed it by now anyway."

"You're all I have left of him, Aiden, and that shell-" she broke off with a sigh.

Aiden rested on her head. "It was a gift to him from J, I know. Retiring this shell isn't giving up on them. Moving on is the best way to honor their memories, and you will always have those memories."

Valora watched Ava flip a knife through her fingers, her eyes resting coldly on Xander who paced in front of her. She was standing steadily now, though that was unlikely to last long. "Move on with them, you mean? I doubt there will be a 'them' much longer."

"If you-"

With a toss of her head Valora dislodged Aiden, knocking him into her lap before hugging him against her chest. "You've almost died twice because of her. I'm not about to do anything I don't absolutely have to do to protect the City."

"Keeping her alive might just be exactly something you have to do."

"What are you talking about? She's crazy stupid. How is her existence doing _anything_ to protect anyone?"

"She's not crazy stupid. She's stupid crazy."

"Is that different?"

"Crucially."

A flash caught Valora's eye. She looked back at Xander and Ava in time to see her knife bury itself into a crack in the concrete a hair away from Xander's left foot. There was already another knife in her hand, and murder in her eyes.

"Better do something." Aiden muttered before disappearing into Valora's robes as she stood reluctantly. At least he was learning to stay out of the way.

"Do not treat me like I am a child." The words seemed to echo, though Ava had spoken quietly. The way she spoke was almost a plea, as if she had let a little bit of true emotion slip into that sentence. Her hands were shaking again, and her eyes continuously flickered around the room without focusing on anything.

Xander just kept yelling. "Stop acting like one!"

Ava nodded slightly to herself and let out a breathy laugh. Her eyes, finally seeming to focus, tried to search Xander's through his visor, but her expression had hardened back into stone, and so had her voice. "Leave."

Xander took a half step back. "What?"

"Stop saying you will and do it, Xander." She paused before adding "Make your word mean something for once."

A low blow judging by the way Xander floundered for something to say. "You- you can't be serious. I mean- If you- If I leave, you will die."

Ava looked unconcerned, her attention already on something else. "Then that's my problem, isn't it?"

"No. _We_ are going back to the Tower. _You_ are going to answer for what you've done."

She chuckled, tilting her head in what Valora recognized as a challenge, and again her whole expression changed. This time to something deadly and slightly unhinged. "It won't work like that. I made a promise to Jalaal, one that nobody has yet to come back from. The Vanguard can do whatever they like to me, but they can't get into it with a faction, not like that. So you decide, Xander, do I die here with my feet on the ground fixing one of my mistakes, or do I die in space making another one? Those are the choices, and we both know it. You make the decision this time." She flipped the other knife at the other side of his foot to punctuate the sentence though it didn't stick, then turned and wandered toward the back of the room.

"Should have known, considering how easily you killed Sorcha when you claim to have loved her." Xander spat before turning and marching toward the door.

Ava didn't turn to watch him leave.

"What do we do now?" Aiden asked in a mock whisper as he poked out from under Valora's robe.

"You leave." Ava's voice broke as she spoke, but she still didn't turn. Instead she crouched down next to a destroyed Vex and ran her fingers over it like she was looking for something.

"But-"

Without looking over her shoulder Ava pulled her gun, aiming it directly at where Aiden had dodged back beneath Valora's robes. "I told you to get out."

Valora didn't argue. Aiden nestled deeper into her robes, muttering to himself, as she tried to catch up with Xander. Something didn't seem right to her. Ava had just had an argument with Xander that she hadn't started. She had hardly defended herself, and her Ghost hadn't appeared to do it for her.

Of course, she had once again threatened Aiden. Maybe nothing had changed.

"I don't think she would have pulled the trigger."

"I'm not sure, honestly. One second she's one way, then she's another. There's no telling anymore. Before we met Thing that first time at least she-" Valora gasped, nearly falling down the stairs in her effort to catch up with Xander. She tried calling his name, but the Titan stormed through the door without so much as a look back.

Once outside the building Xander summoned his Ghost.

"Aiden?" Valora began to ask, but Aiden was already barreling for the other Ghost. Aiden knocked Xander's Ghost onto the ground and proceeded to attempt to smother him in the dirt.

Xander finally turned to her while their Ghosts continued their wrestling match. "What do you think you're doing?"

"To be honest with you, I did not think this through, but that doesn't matter." She said in a rush before he could turn away. "We can't leave yet. If we leave she will die, and you know it."

Xander gently knocked Aiden away from his own Ghost with his foot. "Like she said, that's no longer my problem." He picked his Ghost up from the dirt and started walking away.

"Xander, listen to me!"

Aiden buzzed around Xander's head, essentially annoying him into stopping and returning his attention to Valora.

"I know. I know what she's said and done. I know she's been unreliable and horrible and misguided. I know who she is, but I know who you are, too."

"What are you talking about."

"You do not just leave behind somebody you care about. Not like this. You don't just abandon somebody because they've made a mistake-"

He shook his head, turning away.

"Okay, about a dozen large mistakes!" She corrected herself, louder, and he turned back. "But you know what I'm talking about. This isn't you."

He turned to walk away again. "Like you said, she won't learn if I keep going back to her."

Valora grabbed his arm to pull him back a step, then planted herself in front of him. "This is not about you! This is not even about her. No matter how much she thinks she can, how much she wants to protect you- us-"

"She's only trying to protect herself."

"What did she agree to, Xander? What is it that even you can't forgive?"

He shook his head in an attempt to dodge the question, but Valora grabbed his arms, digging her fingers into his armor until he relented. "She agreed to a mission for Dead Orbit."

"I know that much."

Xander sighed, pulling back from her. His Ghost was the one to answer. "An exploratory mission looking for a new world or something. Somewhere to run to."

"She would hate that." Aiden blurted from near Valora's feet. He had rolled himself across the ground to her and was now caked in mud.

Valora plucked her Ghost from the dirt, absentmindedly brushing him off. It was true. She had seen the way Ava nestled into the ground, twisted her fingers into the grass, and slept deeply. And the way she had behaved in the Tower, restless, impatient. It was more than whatever the Vex tech had done to her head.

"She was wasn't running away." Valora sighed deeply, settling into her 'explaining voice' as Aiden began circling her head "She was trying to make sure she couldn't."

"What?"

"Xander, she doesn't expect to go back at all. She said as much. Think about it. Just for a second!" She added when he began to turn away. "Everytime she messed with the Vex tech her bad decisions, her inconsistencies, they- they accelerated."

Xander huffed. "No, she's just manipulative and selfish."

"She's still sick."

"Fine, but she still made those choices."

"I know. It doesn't excuse anything she's done, I know. But what happens when she can't control her own mind anymore, Xander? When she loses it completely? What happens if she's alone when that happens?"

"I don't care anymore."

"She knows. She's thrown herself into pushing you away."

"That is her _choice_."

"How will you feel, then? When this is over? When she fails and is dead and you could have saved her, but you _chose_ to walk away? You will regret it, Xander. You blame her for running away? Who's running now?"

"You told me to stop letting her drag me along."

"So? Be an anchor. Be a rock."

"Valora-"

"I am going back."

"Why-"

"Because this isn't about any of us. I cannot let her die, no matter what she's done. If she dies we lose, and we let that happen. I'm going back. Are you coming with me?"

Silence fell between them, sudden and odd. Valora counted her breaths. _One_. Xander shrugged uncomfortable. _Two_. His Ghost huffed in irritation. _Three_.

Xander shook his head.

Aiden, in a perfect imitation of Valora's heart, dramatically dropped to the ground again.

"We should return to the Tower. There's nothing left for us to do here." His Ghost said to her. "The Vanguard responded to our request for backup. They can handle this."

Valora ignored him, keeping her attention on the silent Titan. "Xander?" It was a plea as well as a question. Maybe Aiden had gotten into her head about finding a place here, but she felt betrayed. Afterall, he wasn't just leaving Ava.

Xander didn't answer her. He just stepped back, then turned his back on her. She was still staring, mouth half open in shock, as he transmatted away.

Aiden settled on her shoulder. "What now, Val?" He sounded afraid. Of course, it was just like Aiden to get attached to yet another person. He was always picking up strays. Feeling their loss like it was his own.

"You wanted to do something stupid? Now we do something _really_ stupid." Maybe she was a little attached, too.

 _ **~ASDFJKL;~**_

 ** _Remember when I felt bad for not updating monthly? Ha, how far I've fallen! I'm actually the worst. You should know this now, but anyway here you go. I have not abandoned you, despite how it looks dropping off the face of the earth for months. I do intend on finishing this eventually!_**

 ** _I know I usually respond to reviews here, but I'm just really not feeling it currently. Thank goodness there were only two of you this time because I do feel a little bad. I tend to talk to y'all through AN because I need the buffer, but even that really isn't cutting. Just know that I love you!_**

 ** _I will, however answer jsm's question about Owen... Yes, 416 is a ridiculously high number. I asked my brother for one and that's the one he gave, and insisted on giving despite my explanation of what it was for. I just went with it. You can choose to believe that Owen just made it up to look cool, or (as Ben suggested) that he runs on Alta Vista..._**

 ** _No promises on when I'll be back, not because I think it will be very long, but because I don't want to break any promises. I'm pretty unreliable, so set expectations low._**


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